


Secrets of Fate

by Lavenoon



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: 13 yr old me is terrified of my power to not care though, Alcohol, And above all, Demise as big bad, Fantastic Racism, Ganondorf deserves better, Ganondorf has a family and he WILL have friends, Good Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda), Other, Slow Burn, Yiga Equivalent but better, a lot of character studies, a lot of focus on loz lore and characters, also she's not the only enby character bc I have an enby-inator, and a shitty King of Hyrule, and my own interpretation of it, and the Gerudo deserve better, archive warning rarely applies but better save than sorry, because I'm enby and use she/her, canon is but a sandpit from which i take what I like and ignore the rest, defeated hero timeline, edited 2/6/21:, end of timeline, fair warning OC protag uses she/her but is nonbinary, ganondorf x oc strangers to friends to lovers, new installment of legend of zelda, otherwise follows typical loz plot, rated T for some swearing and that violence, self indulgent, though the focus lies elsewhere for most of the fic, though the strangers part is very short admittedly, typical plot starts a few subplots in, we got a triforce trio whose motivations and characters are explored in depth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28170597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavenoon/pseuds/Lavenoon
Summary: Magic and Religion and all of Hyrule’s legends are a mess of truth, lies, conspiracies, stereotypes, assumptions, and fate, and Daia knows none of them. She’s stuck in a country she doesn’t know and untangling this mess to find the spell to bring her home is tedious.So when one day one of her trips causes her to almost die, twice, she’s forced to accept that she could really use some help. And this Gerudo she met seems nice enough, anyway. Who knows, maybe he can help her understand the magic trapping her and finally find a way home - if she still wants to, that is. And on the way they can unravel all the secrets that led to her arrival in Hyrule in the first place.A Legend of Zelda that is also a Legend of Link, and of Ganondorf, using canon as a sandpit for analyses, changes, and new concepts to create a new end of one timeline. Inspiration drawn from multiple previous installments of LOZ, most notably BOTW (not playing in the same timeline, though). All combined with a relatable OC as protagonist, who unravels all these mysteries just as the reader can piece them together, and also falling slowly but surely in love with the would-be villain if the author had followed Nintendo’s usual script.
Relationships: Ganondorf & Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Ganondorf & Original Character(s), Ganondorf/Original Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	1. A Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Look, it's 2020, the world is ending, I'm just gonna stop pretending I don't like Ganondorf or that I like what Nintendo did to him. We deserve better worldbuilding so here I am. Heed the tags, don't say you haven't been warned. Enjoy.

Sand. Sand everywhere. Daia tried awfully hard not to get annoyed, she wanted to do this! She chose this! But it just got increasingly hard to ignore the sand in her everything. And not to mention the heat – protective clothes and heat elixirs helped, yes, although hiking through the desert for hours would leave anyone feeling uncomfortably warm. 

And it had been hours, hours that felt like a day at least, but the sun in the sky told her that she should have enough time to reach her destination and return to the stable before nightfall as long as she hurried. If only her boots weren’t so heavy… Just how much sand had gotten into them, anyway? With a sigh Daia looked around for anything that wasn’t sand, some place where she could rest for a few minutes while she could shake her body’s weight in sand out of her boots.

A bit into the distance she spotted a strange rock formation – ruins? Well, she wasn’t going to get a better place to sit. With new determination she made her way across the remaining strip of desert. Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to drink another elixir, the heat really was getting worse and worse. 

“ _ **Come to Hyrule, it’s beautiful, a land blessed by the goddesses... Yeah right.**_ ” 

Continuing to grumble under her breath Daia sat down on the most accessible rock near her. The formation really did look like ruins – an arch there, leftover paint there. It must have been impressive, and she wondered what it had looked like before it had been destroyed. 

Lost in thoughts like that she really had no one to blame but herself. All of a sudden, the sand in front of her exploded and a monster sprung out – Oh, she’d seen one of these before, Lizard-something, but – 

“ _ **Fuck! Fuck Fuck Fuck!**_ ” 

Lizard-something wasn’t just fast, it had a giant sword which was moving just as fast as the beast towards her. In blind panic Daia scrambled back, just to fall off the rock she was sitting on. She had no time to catch her breath, the monster came running again. 

Thankfully, it seemed to have miscalculated, its speed too great for the small distance, leaving it skidding through the sand, a good bit away from her. It cocked its head and flicked its tongue, hitting itself in the eye – ew. Right, lizard. 

Daia was scared to move and scared to stay. Sooner rather than later it would attack again, but how could she outrun this thing? If she started running, it would chase her like any good predator would, there she had no doubt. She could try and fight it, but that sword was big, and she had only brought her dagger, not wanting to weigh herself down. No spells could actually make her win in this situation.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Of course there were monsters in the desert, they were everywhere in this damned country, and she should have known better after all these months. Living at the stable really had spoiled her, the relative safety making her overconfident. 

Her mind was racing and not in a good way, so when the monster screamed at her, blue tongue at full display, preparing to charge at her again, she wasn’t one bit closer to a decision. Well, now that decision had been taken from her and she grabbed for her dagger, determined to at least not go out without a fight. 

Then, the ground shook and the monster squawked, sounding… scared? It looked away from her and into the ruins where a cloud of sand came closer and closer to the both of them. Whatever lived here and scared this thing couldn’t be good, not with all she knew about Hyrule’s fauna. 

Daia took a few careful steps backwards, moving so the rock she had been sitting on was once again between her and whatever came rushing. 

The Lizard monster, which had ignored her for a blessed few seconds, whipped its head around to look at her again and screamed, but why she’d never know. A gigantic _something_ came crashing through the sand, swallowing its scream as well as the monster itself. It launched itself high, high into the air, presenting Daia with a view of its entire body. 

It looked almost like a fish, a gigantic one, with strange stubby feet, together with small, beady eyes and a massive underbite. An underbite from which she could still see the Lizard’s sword – oh, no, it had swallowed that too. 

And then it came falling back down. 

Daia just stood, frozen despite the heat, unable to process what had just happened. Hyrule’s beasts were even worse than she had already known, and she hadn’t had any positive thoughts about them to begin with. 

It was only when the beast started shuffling and diving back into the sand that she realized it would come for her next, and she needed to _leave, now._

And then, because she hadn’t suffered enough surprises for the day, something grabbed her by the side causing her to yelp and she was moving, instinctively grabbing the arm that caught her. With the wind blowing her hood in her face she couldn’t see much, just a cloth covered arm and the hand attached – with dark brown skin and apart from its size entirely human. Whoever had snatched her was _big_. And probably not out to eat her.

“What were you thinking? Did you want to become a --- snack?”

Her savior sounded _pissed_. Rough voice, somewhat muffled as if they were speaking through cloth, with the wind and the language making matters worse. It took her a few seconds to process what they had said, and she didn’t even understand everything. 

“A what?”, she almost yelled to be heard over the wind. 

“A Molduga snack! Everyone knows one lives at the ---!” 

Everyone who lived here maybe, but she still considered her stay temporary. And what was that last word? 

“I am not everyone! And not the plan!” 

The noise they made in response was either another word Daia didn’t know, or just a wordless noise born from frustration. She was willing to bet on the second option, even knowing so little Hylian. 

She also started feeling somewhat ridiculous, dangling from some stranger’s arm while they raced through the desert. Come to think of it, how were they moving so fast? Twisting her head to look past her hood she saw reins leading to – was that a walrus? Out here, in the desert? Why were the animals here so weird? Weren’t the monsters enough? 

Shaking her head slightly she accepted her fate as a decorative potato sack. As long as she could still see the ruins and that cloud of sand in the distance, she was happy to get away as fast as possible. 

However, after another few minutes she started feeling guilty. How were they holding her up with just one arm? Her feet dangled in the air and it wasn’t like she was helping much by holding onto their arm. Wasn’t she getting heavy? 

And where were they going, anyway? Daia looked around, letting go of her savior’s arm for a moment to pull back her hood. They were traveling close to the cliffs of the nearby mountains, and there were more and more spots of sand-free stone. 

The weird walrus took a slight turn, getting closer to the cliffs and – Oh Earth, was that shade? At least there the sun wouldn’t bother her as much and she could drink another potion in peace. 

As she had hoped, their weird little ride got slower when they neared the cliffs. However, what she hadn’t expected was the unceremonial way her savior dropped her to the ground after they had finally halted. Rude. 

As she coughed and spit out sand, she heard shuffling and some animal squawking happily, and getting up on her knees she could see the walrus flapping its fins while chewing on something. 

Her savior meanwhile fixed her with a hard stare, their arms crossed. They could have looked intimidating but saving her from that Molduga or whatever it was called had ruined any fear she could have felt. Not to mention that she had kind of used up all her daily available fear already. 

They were tall, really really tall, and covered in red and black linen with some golden stitching, a strange color choice considering the sun, though the clothes looked airy enough to not be too hot. Definitely better than the cloak and cheap outfit she had thrown together. 

Big nose, golden eyes, and what she could see of their hair under their headdress was red and unkempt, with a short-trimmed beard to match. They looked like the Gerudo from what she could tell, though she hadn’t seen many of them – they came by the stable now and then, but she was mostly too busy to talk to them, and not in the mood to explain her lack of vocabulary. 

Well, time to face the music for almost getting killed twice in what, five minutes? She attempted a smile which felt more like a grimace now that her embarrassment hit her. She really was that stupid, huh? 

“Uhm… Thank you. For the help.” 

Their expression softened, if not by much. 

“Care to explain what you were doing out there?” 

“Shake sand out of my boots. There’s a lot.” 

Her new companion gave her a flat stare, looking left and right around the desert. Daia used the opportunity to stand, climbing onto the nearest ledge on the cliff. It was mostly sand-free, and she could finally do what she had stopped to do in the first place.

“You don’t say.” 

Now it was her turn to frown. 

“Yes, desert. But I mean my boots. There’s much sand in my boots.” 

And to emphasize her point she took one off and watched as sand continued to trickle out for long enough to leave an impression. She shook it a few times, to make sure it was empty, put the boot on again just to repeat the spiel with the other one. 

Her companion was silent, watching the trickle with an appalled expression. They did look sturdy, but Daia wondered again how they had carried her for so long and being seemingly unaffected.

“I wasn’t too much?”

They blinked, now looking confused. 

“Too much? Too much what?” 

She grimaced. 

“Too much… _**Heavy, what’s heavy in Hylian**_? Uhm, too much weight?” 

Whatever had remained of their frown softened into mild surprise and they regarded her with new interest. 

“Not too heavy, no. You’re not from here?” 

“What made you think that?” 

She laughed, raising her eyebrows in mock disbelief, which they mimicked. 

“You mean --- from the unfit clothes, the boots carrying half the desert, or the lack of preparation for this trip? Was it supposed to be a secret?” 

Chuckling, she raised her arms in surrender. They seemed alright, could take the situation with humor at least. And they enunciated a little more, without commenting on it, making her like them even more. So, she gave them her best friendly smile, feeling like an introduction was in order. 

“I’m Vidaia. Daia. I’m new.” 

It didn’t have the effect she had expected, while their mouth twitched in an attempt to return her smile, they stiffened, their expression getting more serious. 

“I’m Ganondorf of the Gerudo, and yes, I’m male.” 

Why was that important? This situation screamed that there was something she didn’t know, something she probably should know, something that caused tension while she didn’t know how to fix it. She could wait until she was back at the stable to ask the others, or she could ask Ganondorf here and now. And she really didn’t want to embarrass herself without giving an explanation at the very least. She had gotten used to embarrassing questions these last few months, anyway. 

“Is that not normal?” 

“You… You don’t know? Where _are_ you from?” 

“Invera, by the white cliffs. It’s far.” 

“No shit, that’s half the world away. How’d you get here?” 

Daia frowned, why could he ask as many questions as he wanted without answering hers? So she crossed her arms and asked again. 

“Is male not normal?” 

“Male born Gerudo are extremely rare, and I’ve been the first one to be born in quite a while. How’d you get here?” 

It didn’t feel like a complete answer, why would just that cause him to tense up like he had? But Daia knew better than to pry, hopefully he would return the favor after her half-answer. 

“Didn’t really choose, just ended up here. I’ve been staying at the stable for the last months. Helping, Learning.” 

There, enough information to give him something new to focus on. Just please don’t pry, please. How could she explain her situation, anyway? That one day she had been doing her work, passed out and woke up somewhere in Hylian nowhere with no idea how it had happened? That she couldn’t speak a lick of Hylian when she had gotten here, unable to communicate? That she physically couldn’t leave the country and had to stay until she figured out why and a way to leave? No, she was not going to get into that, even if she knew more than half the words needed to explain. 

“The stable just by the mountains? Haven’t been in a while. How is learning the language going for you? Hylian isn’t exactly easy.” 

After nodding in answer to his first question she was ready to frown at his second, but she had to agree – learning Hylian wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. 

“Going. Uhm. Going good, maybe? Wait. Well, going well. I learn new words every day. At least now I can communicate. I started with nothing, you know? Now I can understand people, mostly. I’m not just learning the language though. Monsters, too. Invera doesn’t have as many, and different ones. What was the Lizard’s name?” 

Ganondorf blinked at her, seemingly processing what she had said. That was alright, she felt like that all the time. And she did know that some of the things she said were worded badly, or weirdly. 

“The lizard’s… You mean the Lizalfos?” 

“Yes! Lizalfos. I only remembered Lizard.” 

“Well, if you told anyone you saw a lizard monster they would have understood.” 

At some point of their discussion he had stepped closer, leaning against the cliff in a respectful distance. Sitting on the ledge she still wasn’t as tall as him, he really was huge. His walrus scooted closer, making the happy squawking noises again. 

“You just had some, that’s enough for now.” 

“What is that?” 

Her question seemed to come as a surprise, well, she was full of those. 

“The sand seal? It’s mine, his name is Shrub. How – How much should I tell?” 

“Sand seal. Like sand, because it lives here? I think I’ve heard seal before. I don’t know them at all. How did you ride it?” 

As embarrassing as asking for something seemingly commonly known could be, it was fascinating to learn about Hyrule. Weird, mostly, but Daia couldn’t deny that she enjoyed learning about all these new things. 

“Seal can mean different things. Like the animal, or like – uh. A lock? Like wax on letters, or magical.” 

He looked at her, checking if she understood, so she nodded with a smile. So far she got everything, and it was somewhat satisfying watching other people struggle for words like her when they were forced to explain other words. She was grateful, too, of course, the fun was just a bonus. 

“Okay, good. Sand seals are ---, we Gerudo have been training them for ages, they’re ---, uh, friendly. Docile is friendly. They can move through sand very quickly, so we ride them from our shields. It’s not difficult once you know how. Clear?” 

“The first word – uh, dom… I don’t know that.” 

“Domesticated? Like pets, dogs or horses.” 

“Ah, thank you.” 

“It’s fine. You’ve really never seen one?” 

Daia wasn’t sure if he meant to sound indignant, but he did. Seeing how Shrub rolled around in the sand near them and how Ganondorf watched him with a smile it was clear that Shrub was a well-loved pet. 

“Heard, maybe? But this is the first time I’m in the desert. For more than a few minutes.” 

He eyed her for a moment, then looked ahead again. 

“If you plan more trips like this you should get one and learn how to ride them. It’s faster, and faster is safer.”

“Not the plan, honestly. That reminds me… I should actually go?” 

“Where are you headed, anyway?” 

And he was back to the crossed arms. Daia was well aware of her ignorance and its dangers, but she still wanted to see this through. Even if Ganondorf thought any plan that wasn’t “going back to the stable immediately” was a stupid one. 

“I heard there’s a temple. Here, I have a map. This one.” 

After rummaging through her bag, she pulled out the thankfully barely crinkled map, pointing at the small indent in the cliffs where Maya from the stable had told her the old Gerudo temple was. Not knowing much about the magic of this country, Daia hoped to find something there, anything that would give her a hint on how to return home. 

“Why do you want to visit those ---?” 

“Those…?” 

“Ruins. The temple is broken, no one visits anymore. Why you?” 

Ruins were unfortunate, but there could still be information… 

“Uhm. Learning?” 

She could see he wasn’t satisfied, already opening his mouth to pry some more. 

“Like! Uhm. I live here? For now. I should know. Know more. About culture? You have a different religion, I wanted to learn.” 

Ending with an awkward smile, Daia hoped her excuse was good enough. She had said she wanted to learn, but Hyrule’s religion wasn’t on the top of that list. 

Ganondorf fixed her with another flat stare, did he not believe her? Daia swallowed, her smile becoming more of a grimace as she considered what else to say. But then he surprised her by sighing. 

“There’s no convincing you to go back, is there.” 

Ohh, that was what the stare had been for – Well, white lies always came with some confusion. How should she interpret what he had said though? She didn’t want to assume he was offering to help; they barely knew each other… 

“I really want to go?” 

A grunt, and then a drawn-out sigh as Ganondorf pushed himself from the cliff. 

“Fine. Can’t let you get yourself killed, so we will take you. Come on.” 

And he headed towards Shrub, pulling off the shield from his back and reattaching the linen cloth over his mouth and nose. So that was why he had sounded muffled earlier.

Daia meanwhile grinned the widest she had in months, jumping off the ledge into the sand and jogging after him. 

“Thank you!” 

“Yeah yeah, don’t mention it. Just. Come here. This is going to be ---.” 

“Cramped?” 

“Not much room.” 

“Ah, okay. That’s okay for me. For you?” 

“Fine, just fine. Okay, stand here – “ 

And he maneuvered her onto his shield in front of him, showing her where to hold onto the reins. He was right, it was cramped, but nothing uncomfortable. Daia just hoped she wouldn’t fall off the shield, especially if they were going to go as fast as before. 

“Alright. I’ll steer, so just keep holding here. You won’t fall because the only way to fall would be back and there’s no way you’ll push me over. Ready?” 

Apparently her worries had been obvious, and while she didn’t like being so easy to read she had to admit the reassurance helped. She did barely reach his chest; it really was improbable she’d throw him over. 

“Ready. Start slow?” 

“No Molduga to run from here, sure.” 

He sounded way too smug about it, so she made a point of looking ahead. She would definitely avoid these specific ruins forever. 

“Alright, Shrub, go!” 

They started moving slowly, and then a little faster, but nothing compared to the speed from before. It was actually quite nice, and for a while Daia just enjoyed the scenery, at least whenever it deviated from sand and more sand. The wind in her face also was quite nice when she wasn’t dangling off Ganondorf’s arm. 

But after passing by some of what little flora the desert had to offer, she just had to ask.

“Shrub… like a bush?” 

“I was young and not very creative, and he was hiding in some shrubs.” 

“Oh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finished 6 chapters so far, will upload every two weeks until I run out of chapters, then whenever I'm done writing and proofreading the new chapters.  
> Also let me know what works best for Inveran - for my draft I used a different font, but that doesn't seem to be possible here, so I used bolded and italicized. Maybe underlined is clearer though, or some other combination.


	2. A History Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I said two weeks. But I'm impatient and it's Christmas and Chapter 1 was barely an introduction to the characters. Also I finally finished chapter 7 with a whopping 8K+ words which is the longest chapter so far which I need to celebrate somehow. So enjoy.

“I’m still not sure what you want to learn from these ruins. There’s not much here.” 

A great understatement, Daia decided. There was a lot – the ruins were huge. And surprisingly creepy, though she supposed she was somewhat of a coward. While in a better shape than the ruins the Molduga lived in, the building was obviously abandoned. Wind and sand had smoothed the stone and torn away any color that might have covered it ages ago, leaving only blank walls and a dark entrance.

But that was the outside, and still she hoped that on the inside there would be something on this country’s magic. First she had to enter though. 

“You okay?” 

Ganondorf’s voice was suddenly much closer than before, startling her out of her ruminations. She glanced up at him to be greeted by a frown that was getting more and more familiar. 

“Fine. It’s big.” 

Big wasn’t even close to conveying the temple’s enormity, as well as leaving out her emotional state entirely. She had no backup plan, no idea what to do next if this trip didn’t leave her with _some_ answers. Perhaps she could ask around the stable, though admittedly she was scared to do so, and still unwilling to explain her situation in detail. It just sounded too absurd, too unbelievable. 

But magic in Hyrule was different from the magic in Invera, and whatever had taken her from her home was nothing she knew. So asking the locals should be a good idea. Though she would avoid it until she had no other option left. 

With a sigh she straightened her shoulders and approached the entrance, trying very hard not to get scared by the wind howling through the hallways. What was it about ruins and their being terrifying, anyway? 

“Alright, good luck!” 

At his words she swiveled around, shock apparent on her face. A second later and she tried to rein in her expression – he had only promised to take her, not to babysit her on her quest. He had no obligation to stay, no matter how much she had hoped he would. 

Just as she considered what to say, Ganondorf started laughing. As he kneeled to scratch Shrub’s mane he looked back at her with a devious grin on his face. 

“Goddess, you should have seen your face. You’re new to the whole being --- thing, and it’s obvious.” 

Flabbergasted, Daia blinked at him before she started stammering. 

“Wha- Uh? I’m. What. Being what?” 

“Being brave. Being scared and doing things anyway.” 

He straightened and walked past her through the entrance, so she hurried to follow. She felt a certain need to defend herself, but what would she even say? Yes, she was used to running like a coward? That there was no need for her to be brave in her village? That she had spent her life in relative safety with only some minor hiccups, so of course she was new to this? 

“Is it a bad thing?”

“To be brave? No. Never too late to start. Being reckless can be a bad thing though. Doing things without thinking about the ---.” 

“The last word?” 

“Consequences. What comes after, the results of your actions.” 

“Oh, good then. I always think too much, my parents say.” 

That got him to snort in surprised amusement, and Daia felt surprisingly smug about it. Which was promptly ruined by multiple screeching sounds that came towards them. While she put her arms over her head and ducked, Ganondorf just waved his hand through the air to shoo away the flying pests. 

“Ugh, I hate these things.” 

“ _ **Keese**_?” 

“You know them? Wait, that’s what you call them?” 

It got darker and darker in the hallway, but she could still make out his questioning gaze. Before she could answer he motioned at her to stop, looking around the hallway for something. A few steps away there was a torch on the wall, and he made his way over to take it. 

“We have _**Keese** _ in Invera, too. What do you call them?” 

“Keese. Hand me your dagger, I need to light this torch.” 

Distracted by the conversation she handed him her dagger, though she could see the saber at his hip. 

“Keese… It sounds like cheese.” 

That stopped him in his tracks and she could barely make out his frown in the darkness. 

“Great, now I’ll never be able to think of something else.” 

Shaking his head he continued rummaging through his clothes, leaving her to snicker at his indignation. He finally found what he was looking for, a small piece of flint, with which he proceeded to try and light the torch. 

“Damn, your dagger is tiny.” 

“It’s normal size, you’re just big.” 

As he looked at her, the obvious “You don’t say” staying unsaid, she stepped a little closer to demonstrate. Even with him kneeling she wasn’t much taller, showing her height with her hand. 

“I’m normal size, too. Before you say _I’m_ tiny.” 

“You _are_ tiny. I’ll have you know that most Gerudo are taller than me.” 

“So you are tiny, too?” 

Perfect timing, as the torch finally caught fire and he stood up to his full height again. Ah yes, oh so tiny. But he had asked for it, so Daia didn’t feel a shred of shame and her grin made it obvious.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you. Here’s your baby-sized dagger.” 

She nodded sagely as she put it back in its sheath. 

“I am less scared that way. _**Distraction**_. Thinking of something else.”

“Can’t ruin your distraction then, baby-sized traveler.” 

And they continued on through the hallway. With the torch now illuminating the walls Daia was both more and less scared. No longer scared of anything surprising them in the dark, but the flickering of the flame made her jumpy nonetheless. 

Ganondorf seemed unaffected, with no hesitation slowing him down, even when the hallway made unexpected turns. With her baby-sized legs she had to jog at times to keep up with him. After the second crossroads though she started wondering about where they were going and, more importantly, if they were going to find their way out again. 

“You know this place?” 

He grunted in agreement. 

“Been here a few times. Ruins or not, it’s the old Temple of Din. Pretty much every Gerudo comes here at some point.” 

Oh, Daia could already feel the next embarrassment. 

“So, Din’s important?” 

Subverting her expectations Ganondorf barely reacted past a quick grimace. Not that she was complaining, she already felt ignorant enough. 

“Din is one of the three goddesses of the ---. She’s the goddess of power and said to watch over us Gerudo.” 

“The… tri-?” 

“Triforce. It’s, uh. How to explain the Triforce… Wait.” 

Kneeling down again he used the unlit end of the torch to draw a triangle into the dusty floor, separated into four smaller triangles. He pointed to the bottom right. 

“That’s courage. Bravery. The goddess is Farore.” 

Bottom left.

“Wisdom. Knowing a lot and using it well. This one’s Nayru.” 

And the top. 

“This one is Power. Not just strength, but the ability to use it. Din.” 

“And the middle?” 

He blinked at her, frowning slightly. 

“There’s no middle. That’s the Triforce.” 

“I thought there were four? Goddesses? The people at the stable talk about Hylia sometimes.” 

“Hylia protected the Triforce, but she’s no goddess anymore. Said to be ---. Wait, uhm. Born again as the princess of Hyrule, again and again. There’s no middle.” 

“So it’s called Triforce, because it’s three? Tri is three, right?” 

“No. Yes. Tri is three, but it’s the Triforce because they’re all triangles.” 

“Why? Wouldn’t it make more sense because it’s three?” 

By now his frown had reached the maximum expression of confusion. Being questioned on what one accepts as normal does that to someone, she supposed. After a few moments of an existential crisis Ganondorf shook his head, like that would get rid of the questioning thoughts. 

“The goddesses don’t need to make sense. That’s just how it is. We’re close to the main hall; you’ll see some paintings there.”

Daia just nodded, already getting lost in thought. She hadn’t entirely understood what the Triforce was – she had thought it was the three goddesses, but they only seemed to be associated with the three triangles. Why triangles, anyway? But it was obviously important, and if it was magic, researching it might help her understand whatever brought her here. 

As promised, not soon after they stopped talking the hallway widened. How large the hall was, Daia couldn’t make out, the only sources of light their torch and a small hole in the furthest wall, big enough for only a single sun ray to find its way in. It illuminated a statue, Din? Dust glittered in the sun, making the goddess of this temple look ethereal, even in her dilapidated state. 

Ganondorf walked around the room, using the lit torch to light the others scattered around the room. Gradually the atmosphere became warmer with the fire dancing on the walls, and Daia snapped out of her trance. She pointed at the statue, wanting to make sure. 

“That’s Din?” 

Ganondorf answered without looking her way, perhaps already anticipating the question. 

“Yes. She used to look more --- though.” 

“Impressive?” 

“Uh, great. You just looked at her and knew she was powerful.” 

“She still looks impressive then.” 

She turned to face the statue again, stepping closer. While time and weather took their toll on Din, there was no denying the imposing aura surrounding her. For the statue of a goddess Daia had expected a serene expression, but this one was determined, brimming with power. It was almost like she was looking directly at her, despite being nothing more than a statue. 

“So she is the Triforce of Power?” 

Daia heard Ganondorf step closer, though he remained at a distance. As she turned to face him again she saw him straighten, had he bowed to the statue? Should she do the same? 

“She created it, and left it for this world when she left. I didn’t explain that well, did I. The goddesses created the Triforce, and it contains a --- of their power. People can use the Triforce, and some say that combining all three parts will --- a wish.” 

Grant, it was probably “grant a wish”. Well, that would be a surefire way to get home, wouldn’t it? But there should be easier methods, using the power of three goddesses seemed somewhat overkill. Not to mention that she had no idea how to, or where to begin assembling the Triforce. Asking couldn’t hurt though, probably.

“Where is it then?” 

He spared her a glance before answering, though she couldn’t read his expression.

“The Triforce? Who knows. Some say it is granted to people. These people may use the power of their Triforce Piece, but it’s also to keep the parts separate. The greed driving people to use its power has caused a lot of pain.” 

And the Triforce was out. How could she possibly plan to use it now? 

“Why so curious, little Traveler? You have a wish?” 

Busted. But what better way to lie than using the truth. 

“I just want to go home. Using the Triforce seems too much, no?” 

The truth hit with a wave of nostalgia – her parents, her sister. The dogs and the sheep and the horses in the village. The nearby forest she used to roam through, and the white cliffs she used to climb on in the distance. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked down, hugging herself tight and biting her lip. Did she really have to cry now? She was _not_ out for pity, and it had been a while since she last cried because of her homesickness. She had hoped she wouldn’t need to anymore. 

“Hey, what – shit. Daia?” 

Almost frantically Ganondorf stepped closer, hands raised to help, but not touching her. He mumbled something in a language that wasn’t Hylian, more to himself than to her. Great, now she made him worry, and it wasn’t like crying was productive right now. But a feeble attempt to stop only ended with a hiccup. 

“Sorry. Sorry.”

For a moment he just stared at her with an unreadable expression, then he gently pushed her closer to the statue, sitting her down on the steps leading up to the pedestal. 

“Alright, you’re taking a break. There’s nothing to be sorry for. Just… Eat something? Drink something. Both. Catch your breath.” 

If she weren’t still crying she would have laughed, it was glaringly obvious that he was out of his element, shuffling awkwardly before sitting down next to her with his arms crossed loosely. Making a point of looking anywhere but at her. 

But with his awkwardness rubbing off on her she curled up tight, wanting to disappear for making a scene. At least the tears stopped quickly enough, though that just intensified the shame. Great going, crying in front of someone she had known for all of two hours. 

Another few minutes later she uncurled on the steps, though still looking down on her hands in her lap. She had made things terribly uncomfortable now, hadn’t she? 

“Drink something.” 

The advice came without a glance, he was still giving her space. Daia decided to feel touched rather than continue to wallow in the awkwardness. And after months of keeping people at a distance she was touched immensely. He didn’t know her, didn’t know her situation, but still he tried to comfort her. In a rather emotionally stunted way, but she wasn’t about to complain. 

So she took her flask from her bag and took a big gulp, promptly choking on the water. Her coughing was what finally made him look at her again, his expression unbelieving. 

“Slowly! By Din, don’t you die on me!” 

After a few slight “pats” on her back that felt rather more like falling on her back multiple times she finally caught her breath again. 

“Thanks… _**Betrayed by water, great.**_ ” 

“What was that?” 

Well, at least her choking seemed to have paved the way out of the uncomfortable silence. 

“Uhm, water is supposed to help. With coughing. Not making me cough. Like a friend, stabbing you in the back.” 

“Betrayal. Yeah, that’s fair.” 

“Betrayal by water? Sounds wrong.” 

“Betrayed. To betray. Did you bring food?” 

She nodded, taking two of the apples she had brought out of her bag and offering him one. It only seemed fair, the least she could do. Ganondorf snorted, but took the apple. It was silent while they ate, though he was done much quicker than her. Afterwards he rummaged through a bag hidden under his clothes, pulling out a small pack of dried meat and holding it in her direction. At her grimace he just held it a little closer, more insistently. 

“You can’t just eat fruit, not if you’ve been walking through the desert since morning.” 

“But it’s… difficult. To eat.” 

“You have teeth, don’t you? ---.” 

“What?” 

“Chew! You know, _using_ your teeth?” 

And he demonstrated, eating a bit of jerky himself while exaggerating the chewing motion. He then shook the bag at her again, urging her to eat. Rolling her eyes she took a bit, biting off a small piece. It really was chewy, she almost had to rip off the bite. After swallowing she put down her hand, deciding that she needed a break. 

“Your teeth are better than mine.”

She felt the need to point out the obvious, his canines were all sharper and even a little more pronounced than in any other human she had met. And had noticed their teeth, as it wasn’t usually something she paid much attention to. 

“Get better teeth then.” 

Daia was glad they were back to bantering, it was much more comfortable than, well, crying and awkward silence. 

“Sure. Where did you get yours? Teeth market?” 

They laughed, then Ganondorf shuddered. 

“Teeth market, ew. Not a market I’d want to visit.” 

“What, you don’t have one? What if you lose one? Teeth market has more.” 

“I’m not believing you that Invera has a teeth market, you can stop.” 

She waved her strip of jerky in his direction. 

“You eat this. You should have one.” 

“Better teeth, remember? Now eat.” 

She pretended to grumble, but did take another bite. And another, figuring that if she was already chewing she might just make the best of it. 

A few beats of silence, and Ganondorf broke it. 

“Can’t you? Go home?” 

It was obvious that he was uncomfortable asking, all tense and frowning, and she didn’t feel much better. Still, all things considered it was a fair question, just not one she could answer entirely truthful. So she shook her head. He would have to be satisfied with the lesser reasons, though they hadn’t stopped her from trying before. 

“Too far, no money. Dangerous to go, even in a group.” 

“But you made it before. You’re here!” 

Technically, she hadn’t made it anywhere. So she looked away, hunching her shoulders. 

“Not by choice, I said that. I can’t go home.” 

She felt herself choking up again, so a change of topic was in order. And an assurance that her home wouldn’t come up any time soon. 

“Can we stop? Talking about home. Here is not so bad. I’ll live.” 

Ganondorf regarded her for a long moment, then relaxed. 

“Not if the Molduga has anything to say on the matter.” 

A peace offering, one she was more than happy to accept.

“Do they talk?” 

That seemed to take him by surprise, and he frowned slightly. 

“Well, no -” 

“Then no say in the matter. I’ll look at paintings now, thank you.” 

Shoving the last bit of jerky in her mouth she stood up and dusted off her tunic. Time to go do what she had actually planned to do, she didn’t exactly want to waste the day sitting in a dusty temple eating dried jerky. And she was sure he would offer her some more if she let it happen. 

Thankfully all the torches were still lit, so it was easy to make out the writing and paintings on the wall. A minor hiccup presented itself when Daia noticed she couldn’t read any of the writing - it wasn’t Hylian, she had learned that alphabet a while ago. Given that this was a Gerudo temple and they had their own language, presumably (or Ganondorf knew an entirely different additional language) it wasn’t far off to assume they had their own alphabet as well. Well. No reading the inscriptions then, but the paintings were universal. 

There was a lot of red and orange, sometimes a wavy symbol with three lines. Most paintings depicted a woman in red - Din, most likely. As Daia walked down the hall other figures appeared alongside Din, in blue and green, with inscriptions next to each painting. A story, perhaps? 

“You can’t read that, can you.” 

Ganondorf hadn’t moved from the steps, still eating jerky, though he had obviously been watching her. 

“You can, yes?” 

“Would be a shame if I couldn’t read my own language.” 

“Can you tell me?” 

“Sure I can. But let’s do it on the way out. It’s getting late, and I want you at the stable and me back in town before nightfall.” 

At his words he stood up, dusted off his own robes, and put the bag of jerky away. 

“You know what is written?” 

“By heart. It’s the story of Hyrule’s ---. How it was made by the goddesses. Honestly? Anyone at the stable could have told you, but I suppose they didn’t know it was all that was here to find.” 

Perhaps she should feel bad, spending the whole day looking for information she could have gotten much easier. But she had learned so much more than what was written here, probably, and she wouldn’t have had any idea how to ask for these stories. 

There _was_ the fact that she had almost died twice, of course, but sometimes you had to take risks, and it had all worked out. So far, at least.

“Help me --- out the torches? Just stick the flame in the sand, there’s enough around.” 

“Sure!” 

To make sure she hadn’t misunderstood, he had to have meant to put them out, right? Daia waited and watched what he was doing. As he snuffed out the torch in some sand she hurried to the one closest to her, doing the same. With both of them working simultaneously darkness soon fell over the room, with Daia holding the last lit torch. 

As Ganondorf approached she held it out to him, after all, he was the one who knew where to go. And she wasn’t keen on getting spooked and possibly dropping the torch, leaving them both without light. Fortunately he took it without even commenting, motioning for the exit. 

“Before Hyrule was created, there was chaos. Nothing and Everything, Magic running wild in the world. Din was the first to ---, forming land where there was none, creating the different regions of this country. In two places her touch ---, Death Mountain with its volcanoes, and here, in the desert. Din is power, and fire and heat, so the places most affected are the same. Not sure if the --- of Death mountain pray to her as well, but for us Gerudo she is the one we trust most.

“Nayru brought order to the chaos, preventing wild magic from destroying what Din had created. Farore brought life to the land, as it was now finally ---. 

“After finishing their work they ---, returned back to the heavens, but left the Triforce behind as a gift for the people living in their land. Hylia stayed to protect it, as no goddess or god could use it, only the people had that power. 

“That’s everything of that legend, and the rest is history. We’re almost out, I hope Shrub didn’t run off to find something to eat.” 

The abrupt way he changed from sagely telling her about Hyrule’s creation to worrying about Shrub made Daia stumble, she had been so absorbed in the story. Looking ahead the first rays of sun hit her and made her squint. With sun came heat, and she almost groaned - she still wasn’t used to the temperatures here in the desert. Not that she had made much of an effort to get used to them. 

Stepping out of the temple she saw that the sun was considerably lower in the sky, it had to be late afternoon. She felt tired, now that she thought about it, though she had to suck it up until she was back at the stable at least. Not to think of what she would have done without Ganondorf taking her, she might have just arrived at the temple, if the heat hadn’t killed her on the way. How had she miscalculated the time this badly? 

That being said, she probably should drink a heat elixir, so she wouldn’t die off a heat stroke on the way back. That would be a truly ironic way to go out after a day like this. She still had three left, too, she had planned two for the trip to the temple and back each, Shrub’s speed saving her half. 

Shaking her head she stepped closer to Ganondorf who was feeding an overly excited Shrub some strange fruit. He talked to the seal, and although it had to be Gerudo, baby talk was universal. She would bet a lot that he was saying things like “Yeah did you miss me? Did you miss me? Who’s a good boy, yes you are!”

After a few moments he looked up at her, doing a double take - apparently she had startled him. He cleared his throat, standing up again, like that would make her forget the way he cooed over his pet. 

No shame in that, though, she wasn’t about to tease him for caring for his sand seal, so she just smiled in a hopefully reassuring way. It didn’t quite seem to do the trick as he looked to the side, ducking his head slightly. Then a sigh again, and he looked back. 

“Let’s get you back to the stable, yes?” 

Daia just nodded, too tired to talk. The events of the day had finally caught up with her, and she felt like that Molduga might have just landed on her, flattened her into the sand. It took almost all her concentration to hold onto the reins again and not lose her balance as they started riding through the sand. 

“I’ll go faster again, hold on tight.” 

And even without a Molduga to run from Ganondorf spurred on Shrub, causing the seal to speed through the desert even quicker. The wind was still hot, but the shadows of the cliffs were larger now, making the heat somewhat bearable. Or it was the heat elixir, she couldn’t be sure. 

A few times she felt like she had nodded off, only to be startled awake by a sudden turn or jump. Once she almost lost balance, though like Ganondorf had said - the only way to fall was back, and he didn’t so much as flinch as she dropped into him, though she did feel his gaze on her for a moment.

Much, much sooner than expected she saw the split in the cliffs announcing the entrance to the desert with the stable within spitting distance. Sand seals really were amazing. 

“Alright, we're here.” 

And with that Ganondorf abruptly stopped Shrub in his tracks, causing Daia to stumble and topple forwards into the sand. So much for only falling backwards after all. She even heard him snort, what audacity.

Instead of getting up though she just rolled over with a groan, looking up at the sky. It really was clear blue, not a single cloud in sight. At least the sky was still the same as back home. 

“Are you going to stand up?” 

“A moment. I’m resting.” 

“Resting, of course. Shrub was the one who did all the work.” 

At his words she looked him in the eyes, and while holding eye contact got another apple from her bag. 

“Hey Shrub, want an apple?” 

Shrub very much wanted an apple. Carefully he bit into it, taking it from her hand while tickling her with his whiskers. Ganondorf just watched, looking slightly amused. 

“Saves me a treat, you know.” 

Daia raised her eyebrows, grabbing the last apple she had, beckoning Shrub back over again. 

“Hey Shrub, want another apple?” 

Shrub also very much wanted another apple. His owner gave her a flat look, amusement paving the way for exasperation. 

“You’ll spoil him.” 

“Was the last one, don’t worry.” 

“The fact that you thought you could --- through the desert with only four apples as meals is a topic for another day. Get up, and don’t die on me on the way to the stable.” 

They both looked to the side - the stable was clearly visible, even at her slowest pace she’d be there in less than five minutes. Dying on the way would be quite a feat. Though she wasn’t in the mood to tempt fate after a day like this, so she finally got up, half-heartedly brushing off her clothes. 

Looking back at Ganondorf she turned somber - she owed him so much. Even if he hadn’t saved her life, and he had, he took her to the temple and back with only a few half-hearted complaints, offering her more information than she would have gotten otherwise. 

“Thank you. _**May one day I repay you in kind**_. One day, I hope I can help you.” 

In response he shuffled, looking somewhat uncomfortable. 

“Don’t mention it. More exciting than gathering --- for my sister, anyway.”

“Volt-?” 

“Fruit. The treats I gave Shrub, they grow throughout the desert. My sister wanted some, but was busy with work. She’ll have to make do with what is left.” 

“And you helped me the whole day…” 

“Like I said, more exciting. Just… be careful, yes? And stay away from those ruins.” 

She laughed drily. Yeah, she definitely was never going back anywhere close to the Molduga. Not gonna risk it, and there was nothing there for her, anyway.

“Definitely. Get back safe.” 

“You too, little traveler.” 

And he gave her a small wave before spurring on Shrub and speeding off into the desert. Time to go back to the stable. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's also some amazing [art of Daia](https://lavenoon.tumblr.com/post/638044758439280640/so-a-few-weeks-back-the-incredibly-talented) I commissioned, go check it out!


	3. A Learning Experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up homeboys chapter 8 is finished too and a whopping 11K long

It had been a little over a week since Daia’s both terrifying and productive desert trip, and she hadn’t stepped foot on sand since. Instead she had kept busy at the stable, taking care of the horses and greeting travelers among other odd jobs. 

That way, she hadn’t had much time to think about what she had learned, though also no time to feel bad about it. Besides, she had spent months in Hyrule now, a few days more weren’t going to do anything. Going home was important, but the work was urgent, so the latter took precedence.

At the moment she was helping one of the stable residents, Toren, as he was fixing the roof. Some of the wood had rotten and started leaking, so they had to replace some laths and the insulation below them. With no fixed responsibilities and no fear of heights Daia was one of the only qualified people at the stable, which she probably shouldn’t be as proud of as she was. 

But it was one of the funniest cultural differences she had noticed, Hylians were much more prone to fear of heights than Inverans. Or, well, the people living by the white cliffs, other regions probably didn’t have to climb as much. But the cliffs where she grew up were steep, and anyone who climbed them would find a plethora of useful herbs and spices on the ledges and top, not to mention the mushrooms and rare minerals one could find in the small caves scattered throughout the mountains. 

Daia’s parents used to joke that she had learned climbing before she had even started walking, which wasn’t all that impressive when you knew they were talking about climbing on a chair and the first steps following as she climbed down again, so really, it was a technicality. Still, she enjoyed being high up, and after years of practice she was fast and confident. 

Maybe that was why she hadn’t enjoyed the desert - sand was just made of stones she couldn’t scale anymore. 

“Another nail, please.” 

Snapping out of her thoughts she blinked, hastily grabbing for the little box of nails, reaching out to Toren. He took four nails, holding three between his teeth and hammering the fourth one in. 

“We altho ‘eed a’other plank.” 

It was hard to understand him through the nails, but he had said the same thing again and again for half a day, so by now she simply knew the routine. He would ask for nails, fix a plank, and tell her to get another. Easy peasy. 

“After this I still need to take care of these ---...” 

“Huh? These what?” 

“Bokoblins. There’s a camp near the stable and no matter how many times I get --- of them there’s always more.” 

“Get… rid?” 

He gave her an exasperated look before motioning for the next plank.

“Kill them. They’re dangerous.” 

“But it doesn’t work?” 

“Sure it does. There’s just others that take over the camp.” 

At this point Daia was hopelessly confused. Did Toren think there was no other way to get rid of a few monsters? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to find a different solution? And, most of all, didn’t Hylians have any spells for things like that? 

“But… it’s still not safe?” 

“That’s why I have to get rid of them again!” 

He frowned at her, obviously annoyed at her lack of understanding. Perhaps it wasn’t a battle she had to win, but she wanted to, getting angry herself. Yes, she didn’t know, but that was no reason to yell at her. Just because they hadn’t figured out a way to stay safe besides killing monsters didn’t mean no one else had. She could do it herself if she had some quartz. 

“Why is killing the only option?” 

“Well, talking surely isn’t going to --- these beasts to leave. Now hand me some more nails.” 

She almost bit her tongue suppressing another biting remark, but Toren obviously thought the topic was over with, so she wasn’t going to win this one. Well, for now - she might have lost the battle but she would win this war. That would teach him to be an asshole. 

So she handed him the nails with a tight smile, deciding to just not say anything more than necessary until they were done. She wasn’t the only one who could learn new things, and if he wanted to ignore that, well, he could be her guest. 

Luckily they were finished not even an hour later, and Daia didn’t hesitate to climb from the stable ignoring the ladder completely. After all, it wasn’t that high of a drop and there were enough ridges she could grab onto. 

Toren mumbled as he climbed down the ladder, though she didn’t catch what he said. Given how their conversation had ended it either was a complaint about the monsters or about her, and she didn’t care much for either. His fault for not being open to new possibilities anyway. 

For now, she had a new agenda - find out where she could get some quartz and then ideally get some tools, pack her bag and find some in the mountains. Buying wasn’t an option, not with her utter lack of money. She could try with other gemstones too, but quartz was best for what she had in mind. A simple spell of protection and safety, getting the stones would be the hardest part. 

“Maya?” 

As she entered the stable she already called out to her friend slash motherly figure, Maya, who had been the first person she had met in Hyrule and who had taught her the most. She would also be the first person Daia would ask about Hyrule’s magic and her situation if she ever mustered up the courage to do so, but that could wait for another day. Far, far into the future, as last resort. 

She spotted her talking with a guest, feeling much like a child as she came up behind her and waited while bouncing slightly on her feet. The prospect of finally doing something with a purpose spurned her on. 

“Daia? Everything okay with the roof?” 

As Maya finished she turned to her, frowning slightly in concern. Daia waved her away, not wanting to get into what happened up there. 

“The roof is fine, it’s fixed now. I wanted to ask something?” 

“Sure, what is it?” 

It was then that Daia noticed she didn’t know the Hylian word for quartz. Back to describing things again, and hopefully she’d get it. 

“Uhm, I needed some stones, rare ones. Clear white, like for jewelry?” 

“Gemstones? You could always buy some, though merchants here rarely sell them. You might get some in Gerudo town, I can lend you some money.” 

And walk through the desert again? Especially with the real risk of meeting Ganondorf in his hometown and getting another lecture on the dangers of the desert and the advantages of a sand seal? She grimaced.

“Any other way?” 

“Hmm, well, there _are_ some --- deposits in the mountains. But they’re not always ---, and it might get dangerous.” 

“Acc-?” 

“Accessible. Easy to get to. You really need some?” 

“Yes, for magic. It’ll be good. I’ll be fine, just need a hammer?” 

Maya sighed, but smiled at her. 

“As long as you’ll be careful, take whatever you need. When will you be back?” 

Daia shrugged. 

“Not sure, when I have what I need. Will be back for the night, maybe go again tomorrow.” 

“Alright then, take care.” 

She grinned and ran off to grab a hammer and some fruit to snack on. Definitely no jerky. For no specific reason of course. 

Standing outside she looked for the easiest path to scale up the cliff, that way she’d get a better view of the terrain. And these cliffs weren’t even as steep as the cliffs back home, so the whole trip should be a piece of cake. Unless she didn’t find any gems of course.

Well, at the very least there would be no sand in her boots and no Molduga, so she wouldn’t need to be saved at least. She’d stay close to the edge and climb down if there was any other kind of trouble. And hope that no one with a bow and arrow would be out to get her. 

After determining the fastest way up Daia smiled. Finally a reason to climb again, she had been getting rusty. Still, finding the best protrusions to hold onto to pull herself up came as naturally as ever, and she was up the mountain much faster than she had expected. 

Looking around she breathed in the crisp mountain air and felt the wind in her hair. Well, off to find some quartz then. 

\---

The next morning, Daia had to head out again. She had found some gems alright, but not one quartz, and she needed at least three. So when she had returned to the stable that last evening she was understandably tired and grumpy, and went straight to bed after a quick wash and eating. 

Today though she felt determined again, having had a quick breakfast and looking at the cliff in the opposite direction of the one she had climbed yesterday. Hopefully in this direction she would find some quartz. 

And after finding plenty of other gems she finally found what she was looking for, causing her to almost yell in delight. 

“ _ **Yes! Finally, oh that took so long. Can’t believe there’s so little quartz to find here!**_ ” 

Humming Daia followed the quartz veins, hoping to find larger deposits, though she would break some fragments out of the ground if there was nothing else to get here. It did take her a few more minutes of wandering, but looking at the small cluster of clear quartz she felt like her work had finally paid off. It was half-hidden between some protrusions of stone from the mountain and only slightly larger than her fist. 

That was enough though, so she went and carefully broke off some pieces with her hammer. She ended up taking six crystals, it was never bad to have some spares. As she looked at the sad remains of the little cluster she shrugged and decided to take the rest, too. It wasn’t like it was the only quartz to find here, there were the veins as well as probably other clusters in this area. 

As she stood up and stretched she could hear her joints crack, she had been sitting hunched over for a while now, huh. Checking the sky and it was just past noon, enough time to go back and take care of that monster camp. Oh, she really was looking forward to that. Mostly the part where she’d tell Toren why no other monsters came back, though she wasn’t sure if she’d tell him immediately or wait until he went to check. The latter would probably be more effective, but she wasn’t sure if she was patient enough. 

Ruminating about how pettily her plan should be executed Daia headed back. She didn’t know exactly where the camp was, only the rough direction and that it was near the stable. Even that she only knew because she had seen Toren come back, bloodied and dirty, from his endeavor the day before. 

The way back was much shorter than the first part of her trip, mostly because she wasn’t looking around for quartz or walking all over the place. She hadn’t even met any monsters on either trip, perhaps they didn’t like the mountains. Or couldn’t climb them. Well, she wasn’t about to complain.

But then, just as her feet touched horizontal ground again she heard him. 

“So you’re not dead, what a surprise.” 

Turning around Daia found herself face to face with Ganondorf, who, to no one's surprise, was frowning at her. Not that she had any room to talk, given that she instantly mirrored his expression. What was he doing here? She hadn’t seen him at the stable in all these months since she had arrived, and frankly hadn’t expected to see him again any time soon. 

“Why would I die?” 

“From what I hear you traded in the desert for the mountains as your dangerous weekly trip.”

“Dangerous... weekly trip?” 

It clicked. He didn’t know her very well, and all he knew now was that she had left for the desert unprepared and almost died, and now that she had been climbing through the mountains for two days. She laughed, though she didn’t mean to. 

“It wasn’t dangerous. And not a… how do you say, normal thing… habit! Not a habit.” 

“Not dangerous my ass, did you even take any weapons?” 

And there it was again, this assumption that fighting was the only way. She had taken her dagger again, and the hammer she took could have been used as a weapon in an emergency as well. But she still hadn’t even met any monsters in the mountains. 

Feeling petty however she held up both dagger and hammer with a smile, figuring she might as well deserve the lecture. 

As expected, Ganondorf stared at her with thinly veiled exasperation. 

“How are you not dead?” 

“Easy. No monsters in the mountains.” 

With that she walked past him to the stable, figuring she could ask Maya for the exact location of the monster camp. Ganondorf followed her, much too easily despite her quick steps. 

“Of course there are monsters in the mountains, are you telling me you haven’t --- a single one?” 

“Maybe they can’t climb that high.” 

“There’s paths all over the mountains, no one needs to climb.” 

With a sigh, Daia stopped and turned to him, rummaging through her pockets and pulling out some of the gems she found. 

“I went for gemstones, they are off the paths. There were no monsters. Besides, no Molduga in the mountains, right?” 

“Yeah, because you were totally gonna beat that Lizalfos.” 

She shook the gems in her hands again for emphasis.

“With these? Yes.” 

Maybe she enjoyed his utter confusion a little too much, but she was really looking forward to using her magic again, as she hadn’t had a reason or the means to do so since she had arrived here. 

“What were you gonna do with these, throw them at monsters?” 

A flat look. Then she shrugged, put the gems away again and continued walking. 

“Too much to explain. You can watch if you want, but I need to talk to Maya first.” 

“Watch what? Daia?” 

Instead of an answer she broke out into a run, rounding the corner of the stable entrance and almost ran into the one person she was looking for. 

“Oh dear! Daia, back already? Have you found what you were looking for?” 

“Yes! Toren went to the monster camp yesterday, where is it?” 

Maya blinked, taken aback by her question, though she attempted a smile. 

“Just down the path, you’ll see when you get there, but why do you need to know?” 

“I’ll make it safe. Will be back by nightfall!” 

Stepping out of the stable again she was confronted with a very bewildered looking Ganondorf. At her smile he just raised an eyebrow. Not that that was going to stop her, she just walked past him towards the path, with him at her heel.

“What’s that about making monster camps safe?” 

“With the gemstones.” 

“You aren’t gonna explain, are you.” 

“It’s easier to show. Saves questions and word confusion.” 

“Not like I have anything better to do.” 

Speaking of which… 

“Why are you here? I haven’t seen you at the stable before.” 

She looked at him from the side, surprised to see him just turn his head away. Weird. So far she hadn’t gotten the impression that he shied away from eye contact.

“Just. Some trade, y’know. You should have seen some Gerudo before.” 

“That’s true. So it was your turn this time?” 

If she hadn’t been looking she wouldn’t have noticed how he raised his shoulders, just a bit. And he still wasn’t looking at her. 

“Something like that, yeah.” 

“And you’re done with the trade?” 

“Yeah, pretty much. You do know where you’re going?” 

At that Daia stopped and looked around for a moment, then shrugged. 

“Maya said I would know. I guess a monster camp is not very… not invisible, but similar.” 

“Subtle, maybe. Or inconspicuous.” 

“Incon-”

“Inconspicuous.” 

“I already hate this word. Inconspicus? No. In-Inconspicuous.” 

She still felt like her pronunciation was off, frowning slightly. What kind of word was that, anyway. 

“Low-key works as well, means the same.” 

“A monster camp is not very low-key. That’s easy, I like it.” 

“It’s up there, by the way.” 

“Huh?” 

They stopped, and she looked in the direction he pointed, though even standing on her tip-toes she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Ganondorf snorted at her, causing her to throw him a dirty look. 

“Sorry, baby-sized traveler. I forgot.” 

“Yeah yeah, I’ll baby-size you.” 

“That doesn’t even make sense.” 

“You don’t make sense.” 

He laughed quietly as he followed her, and honestly, it was hard for her to not laugh as well. All her life she had been of average height, but Hylians were a little taller. And then she had met Gerudo, and she had been in awe. The first time she had met one, one of the traders of the Oasis, who’s name she unfortunately hadn’t caught, she wouldn’t have known what to say, even if she knew the language well enough. Ganondorf might be shorter than the average Gerudo, but relative to her they were all way taller. Another few centimeters didn’t really cut it for her. 

The path took a small turn up an incline, and then she could finally see the camp - leftover campfire, a small tent and - ugh, what was that _smell_?

“That guy - Toren? He didn’t even clean up, can’t believe he calls this a job well done.” 

“Clean up?” 

But as she was asking she stepped high enough to have a full view of the camp. It was littered with rotting corpses, not of monsters, but wild animals, the smell of rot and blood everywhere. The only living thing were swarms of flies. Daia gagged, holding her hands in front of her face and breathing through her mouth. It was a horrible view, and she no longer wondered why new monsters continued to take up camp here. She wasn’t usually one to just call something evil, but this place reeked of it. The Earth here must have suffered so much… 

“You can still turn back.” 

Ganondorf’s voice was unusually soft, and still he took her by surprise. She looked up at him, then back at the camp, eyes wide and mouth dry. 

Then she clenched her teeth and squared her shoulders, lowering her hands to pull them into fists. She had done so much to get here, and now she wouldn’t turn back. Not when the Earth needed her even more than she had thought. 

“I can do this. Watch, magic. Our magic.” 

Circling the camp she took it all in, the smell, the pain, the horror. The Earth was drenched in it, and looking at the site she was glad she had taken the six quartz crystals and more. She was going to need much more than the three she had expected. As well as a few of the amethysts she had found. 

Those she picked first, picking two of the largest ones. With them in her hand she walked to the remains of the campfire, it was about as central to the camp as anything. She knelt in front of it, careful not to sit in too much ash, and started whispering to the stones. The words weren’t necessary, but they helped her focus her magic, and focus on her intention. Intention gave the magic its meaning, though it also depended on the materials. Ask the wrong spirits for the right thing, and you still wouldn’t get the results you wanted.

“ _ **May you heal, and may you mend. May you repel the sickness of the land.**_ ” 

With that she dug a small hole in the dirt, just deep enough so wind and weather wouldn’t wash the gems away, and carefully put them inside. Covering them again she had the impression the spell was already working, though she wasn’t sure if it was make-believe. 

“Before I do more, the animals need to go. Earth needs to heal.” 

Daia didn’t even bother cleaning her hands, her job here was far from over and would only get dirtier. She wasn’t sure what to do with the carcasses, just throwing them somewhere else felt wrong, but she hadn’t brought any more tools to bury them. 

Ganondorf regarded her with an unreadable expression, then he sighed. 

“Alright, where to?” 

She grimaced, still unsure. 

“I don’t know. It feels wrong. They should be safe, too.” 

“Bury them?” 

“How? Go back for tools?” 

He waved that idea aside, smiling slightly. 

“No need. I have an idea. We’ll use this -” 

With some quick rips the tent was destroyed, and he spread the cloth on the ground, a few meters away from the camp where the dirt wasn’t covered in bones. 

“Help me collect the bones, that way we’ll minimize the --- on ourselves.” 

“Stench?” 

“Bad smell.” 

“Good thinking.” 

For a few moments it was quiet as they collected the bones, then Ganondorf broke the silence again. 

“What did you say? Before you buried the gems.” 

“Healing words, fixing. The Earth here is sick. I don’t know the exact words.” 

“The earth?” 

She hummed, then stopped and shook her head. 

“Earth ghosts, that’s better. Earth is not one thing, nothing is. There are ghosts in everything.” 

“Ghosts, you mean spirits?” 

“What’s the difference?” 

“Ghosts are dead people, spirits is more general? They are similar, but spirits are often guardians, or they can be evil, too, mostly they’re more powerful. Spirits aren’t ghosts, but some ghosts are spirits?” 

“Spirits then, yes. Guardians of everything, they are magic. So there’s magic in everything, but not always active. People can use magic to… uhm. Make plans and wishes come true? But for that we use our own magic to wake up the spirits of things. I woke up the gems’ spirits to tell them to heal the Earth. These gems do that. I will need other gems to protect.” 

“That’s how your magic works?” 

He looked at her curiously, until he missed the bone he had been reaching for and touched the rotten flesh of the bird, flinching away in disgust. Daia hissed in sympathy, then laughed softly as he grimaced and shook his hand. Like that would get rid of the smell. 

“That’s how we use it, yes. Hylian magic is different, you don’t need to awaken anything. It just _is_. It’s impressive.” 

“I don’t know, using gemstones with magic to protect the land sounds pretty impressive to me, too.” 

She grinned as she tossed another batch of bones on the cloth. 

“Both are good. But impressive is what you don’t know.” 

“True. I wonder if we can learn each other’s magic, or if it’s something ---.” 

“Inherent?” 

“Decided by birth. Or something like that. In your nature.” 

“We could try. But another time, first this.” 

“I wasn’t about to ask for a crash-course.” 

His sass got him another shrug as they collected the last few bones. Afterwards they both looked around, looking for anything they might have missed. Apparently determining that there was nothing left to pick up, Ganondorf wrapped the cloth ends together and took the bundle in one hand, grabbing one of the wooden spears that had kept up the tent with the other. 

“Alright, now we look for a ---. If you see any that look big enough - actually, never mind. I’ll see any big stone before you do.” 

“Thanks, I love helping.” 

Her dry tone made him laugh, and he grinned down at her. 

“I’m the one who’s helping, no? You’re the one who can fix this mess, and I really want to see, that’s all. Up there looks good.” 

Following his gaze she saw what he meant, a round boulder straight ahead, about her size, or a little smaller. He dropped the bundle next to the stone, digging the spear into the gap between it and the ground. It looked like he knew exactly what he was doing, while Daia felt rather out of place. 

It finally clicked when he started pushing down on the spear, using it as a lever to push up the boulder. Burying the bones under a stone was a good way to keep them out of the way, she had to admit. 

The spear soon started cracking, but before it could break Ganondorf pushed against the stone itself, which was already a good bit higher than before. 

Grabbing the spear closer to the middle and just past the crack, Daia put it further under the boulder to help. It might not be much, but better than just standing around uselessly, and with the spear as a lever her effort might actually have an effect. 

It didn’t take long before the stone rolled out of its pit, and Ganondorf turned to her. 

“I could have done it alone.” 

“But you didn’t need to. I can help.” 

He blinked at her, obviously taken aback, then he started to smile, though it was somewhat lopsided in confusion. Apparently big, strong Ganondorf didn’t need anyone’s help. Or wasn’t used to it, she wouldn’t know. 

“Let’s just put the bones under there so you can go back to awakening some gem spirits.” 

Doing so was quick work, and it wasn’t even five minutes later that they arrived back at the camp. The Amethysts had started working for sure now, and while Daia was unfazed, Ganondorf stopped, raising his head in alertness. 

“It feels different. That’s your magic?” 

“ _ **Amethyst** _works fast. In a day, it will feel like any other place here.” 

“Which gem did you use?” 

She pulled out another one from her pocket, holding it up to him. 

“Amethyst. So amethyst is for healing. Which one do you use for protection?” 

So she took out six of the quartz crystals, holding one in his direction and shaking it in invitation. As he took it she knelt again, spreading the other five on her lap. 

“Clear quartz. That’s why you went up north, there’s some quartz --- there.” 

“I went the other direction yesterday, nothing. You know where to find which gem?” 

“Not all of them, no. We do sell them sometimes, but I never really cared about getting them.” 

“Can you tell me what you know? Please? Maya only knew gemstones, no details.” 

“Sure, I’ll write it down sometime, then I can ask around town, too. Wait, can you read?” 

“Not fast, but yes. I have to translate every letter, it’s still strange.” 

He sat down next to her, cross legged, and held the quartz out to her again. 

“Learning another language _and_ another alphabet must be tough.” 

As she took the gem back she laughed. Must be? He knew two languages and alphabets as well, he should know how annoying it could get, mixing up letters because they looked just too similar, or using the wrong words because the meanings were all switched up. 

“You know two as well.” 

“Eh, that’s different. I grew up learning both, I had to. And that were just two of many, _many_ classes I had to take.” 

While she really wanted to finish the spell, Daia couldn’t deny that she was curious now. And surely there was enough time to ask _and_ use magic. 

“What other classes?” 

“Uhhm.” 

For a moment he just looked at her, so she smiled and held eye-contact, hoping to convey her curiosity. Apparently it worked, because he sighed and laughed softly. 

“Math, Nature classes, learning about the animals, learning about where to find specific resources, ---, History, that kinda stuff. Combat classes too. Mostly boring, really, though I get why I have to know.” 

“Pol…?” 

“Politics. Who’s the king, who works for the king, who leads which clan, all that.” 

“Huh. I barely know that about Invera, and you had a whole class?” 

“Like I said, had to know.” 

“You do?” 

Ganondorf opened his mouth to reply, then abruptly closed it again. Frowned, then widened his eyes as he sucked in air through his teeth. 

“Riiight. You don’t know. I’m the ---’s son?” 

Wait. He was what? She didn’t know the word, but… 

“You’re... important?” 

“My older sister is going to be the next chief, so it doesn’t really matter.” 

“You’re important.” 

Maybe she didn’t know Hylian culture very well, but she knew well enough that she hadn’t treated him like someone important should be treated. She had joked, teased, bantered with him, even wasted his time on not one but two occasions. On purpose even. Surely he had better things to do than follow her on her daily adventures and teach her about Hyrule’s creation or lift up boulders for her. 

Daia wasn’t sure what her face looked like, but she wouldn’t be surprised if her thought process was clearly visible as her realization progressed. 

Ganondorf meanwhile looked increasingly uncomfortable, hunching his shoulders and looking to the other side. 

That was it what made her rein in her expression, and stop her thoughts from spiraling. No matter what she had done, it was over and she could only try her best for the future. And making him uncomfortable wasn’t the place to start. So she tried to calm her racing heart and cleared her throat. 

“So, uh, anything I should do? Now? Or, uh. Should have done?” 

Her following smile felt so awkward, she felt embarrassed just thinking about what she looked like. And what were her hands doing? Erratic gestures weren’t going to save her now. Ganondorf looked at her with a slight frown, then promptly snorted before he looked to the ground again. Well, at least something. 

“It’s fine, really. It’s no big deal.” 

She raised her eyebrows, wary. 

“Really?” 

“Really. Now do your magic, the sun is going to set soon.” 

It wasn’t, but she could take a hint when it was thrown in her face. So she breathed deeply, once, twice, until she felt her heartbeat calm down again. Then she focused back on the crystals, covering them with her hands. 

“ _ **Keep evil away, and harm at bay. Protect this land.**_ ” 

She stood up, three gems in each hand. At full height she looked down on Ganondorf for the first time, and he still looked ill at ease, though at least he was looking at her again.

A peace offering was in order. 

She held out her hand, a slight smile on her lips. 

“Help?” 

A blink, and then a careful smile spread on his face as he took the quartzes. Maybe he had other things to do, but he didn’t seem to consider them better than helping her.

“Sure. What do I do?” 

“Bury them in a circle, we’ll go round. They need to stay in the earth to work, so deeper than the, uh, amethysts. I’ll start over there.” 

She walked over to the other end of the camp where she dug a hole again with her hands. As she had said, this one was deeper than the one at the center, and she wasn’t looking forward to having to clean the dirt from under her fingernails. But it would all be worth it when she rubbed it in Toren’s face. 

When she moved, Ganondorf moved as well, staying opposite to her to complete the circle. He used a stick to dig more efficiently, and inspired Daia to start using her dagger to work faster. 

After they finished she stretched, then dusted off her hands on her pants. This should work just fine. Grinning, she looked across the camp and crossed her arms in pride. 

“Now evil can’t enter. No more monsters at this camp.” 

“Evil can’t enter?” 

At his words she looked at him, and blinked. He seemed… tense, staring at the ground where he had buried the last quartz, though his eyes were unfocused, a slight frown accompanying the tight line of his lips. He reached out, then stepped closer to the camp. His frown intensified before it vanished completely, and he looked up at her, eyes widened in question.

“It doesn’t feel different.” 

“Why would it?” 

Like back in the desert, she felt like there was something she was missing. But she had her own secrets, and wouldn’t even know where to begin asking about his, even if she had any right to do so. So instead she smiled in question, hoping that it was the right thing to do. 

Apparently it was, because the tension left his shoulders and he returned her smile, if a little slowly. 

“Not sure. And this will work?” 

“Definitely. I’ve done it before.” 

His smile widened just a little, the last remainders of his frown melting away. 

“Sure then, little traveler. Back to the stable?” 

She nodded, skipping over with her hands clasped behind her back. 

“So, are there any gemstones for fighting?” 

That made her snort, and she took out her dagger, pointing out the two gems on its hilt. 

“Not for fighting, but here. One is quartz, for protection, the other… _**Amber**_. It’s for strength.” 

“Amber for strength, alright. So this is the dagger that would have beaten a Lizalfos armed with a ---.” 

“I will hear this forever, no?” 

“Oh, definitely.” 

She groaned in mock frustration, sheathing her dagger again. It was fun, in a way, and it wasn’t like she didn’t deserve to be teased. She had been terribly reckless, and it had almost cost her her life. If surviving meant some jokes at her expense she could live with that, literally. 

They didn’t talk for the rest of the way, only when the stable got back into view Ganondorf broke the silence. 

“Alright, I’ll be back next week.” 

“Uh, okay?” 

At her questioning frown he grinned, showing his teeth. 

“Just in case, you know. If these dangerous weekly trips do become a habit, you really should know how to ride a sand seal. And I happen to be an excellent teacher.” 

“I can’t say no?”

“Exactly.” 

She sighed deeply. 

“My fault for almost dying. See you next week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I know nothing about gem meanings or functions or alternative healing methods and I don't care to learn


	4. A little Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruining my trend chapter 9 sadly isn't finished yet, but at least I can announce that my exam phase is over and I finally have time and motivation to write again

Ganondorf kept his promise. A week later he appeared at the stable just an hour after sunrise, which she was told by a very confused Maya waking her up. Grunting she sat up in her bed and glared at the sunlight just barely reaching inside. After stretching she started getting ready, brushing and rebraiding it quickly. But as she snuck out of the stable to wash up at the spring behind it she almost ran into him, though he pointedly didn’t look at her. Might have had to do with her nightgown, as he still held out a small bundle of cloth and some boots out to her. 

“Here, wear this. Won’t need any heat elixirs with this.”

Oh, it was definitely too early for this. It took her way too long to process what he had said, realizing only after she took the bundle that yes, it was indeed clothes fit for the desert. She mumbled out a quick thanks and went on her way. Only after splashing some cold water on her face did she think about it again, realizing the implications. 

First of all, it was extremely nice, given that she knew what clothes imbued with magic cost. Second, was it a gift, or should she return them after today? And third, were they even going to fit? 

As she was thinking Maya walked up at her again with a basket of laundry. Setting it down beside her she sat down on a crate. 

“So, the son of the Gerudo chief comes here just after dusk to teach you how to ride a sand seal?” 

How hadn’t she known he was important? It wasn’t like people kept it a secret. Daia sighed. 

“After the desert he thinks I should know.” 

“And he’s teaching you?”

She shrugged, leaning against the wall next to Maya. 

“He said I can’t say no. I don’t know why. I didn’t know he was the chief’s son, or I would have acted differently.” 

Maya regarded her with a surprised look, which turned into a knowing smile. It definitely was too early for this. What did she know now that Daia had missed?

“Don’t act differently around him, dear. That boy is so caught up in the past, he can use a friend. And you, too - someone your age.” 

“Caught up in the past?” 

“Thinking too much about it. It’s irrelevant, really. I’ve known him since he was a kid, most of us here at the stable do. He doesn’t come by as often these days, and he’s trying to act serious, so maybe you’re just what he needs.” 

Just what he needed, huh. If she were more awake she might make a joke about it, but at her current level of alertness it would probably turn into a more self-deprecating one, and she didn’t want to start the day like that. So she just smiled and pushed off the wall again. 

“The past is in the past. I won’t ask him. I should get ready though, the desert isn’t going to get cooler.” 

“Do bring food, and enough to drink.” 

“Yes, yes, of course. It’s not my first trip to the desert.” 

Maya threw her a dirty look and took the laundry again, walking a few steps downstream to wash it.

“Only the second, and you almost died on your first.” 

“Still alive. And now I have more protection gems. We’ll be fine.” 

Daia shook out the bundle, checking the length of the dress. It did seem a little long, but she could just use the belt to tie it up a little more. As long as she wasn’t going to die of a heatstroke she didn’t particularly care. The headdress fit well enough, even her braids were fully covered. 

As she turned to give the final outfit a look Maya whistled, laughing as she got an unamused look in return. It wasn’t particularly flattering, not the way she knew it, but these clothes weren’t made with that in mind, anyway. They were baggy, and airy, and meant to cover as much skin as possible. And that job they did exceptionally well. She even felt a little cooler already. 

After getting ready, Daia walked back around the stable, clearing her throat just as Ganondorf turned around. Had he heard her coming? Well, not like she had tried to be quiet. 

“It’s still a little big. Otherwise okay?” 

She spread her arms, showing off the baggy cloth held up by the belt. 

“Still fits. And works. You want to go right now?” 

“It’s not going to get cooler, yes.” 

Just as expected. She sighed, then gave him her best “I’m tired, but alright” smile. 

“Just need my bag with food and water, I’ll be right back.” 

As she was grabbing some bread and fruit, she could hear Ganondorf talking - had Maya come back to talk to him, too? But looking outside she saw him talking with none other than Toren. Oh, now she was curious. 

Toren had checked on the camp once since Ganondorf and her had cleaned it up, though she had been working at the time and hadn’t known on time. Thus, she couldn’t tell him the reason when he had wondered why the camp was still empty. It hadn’t felt right to tell him later, like she had missed the opportunity. After all, it just wasn’t the same, telling him out of nowhere. If Ganondorf did it now while she had been biding her time… 

She hurried outside, right in the middle of their conversation. 

“Yeah, it’s been suspiciously quiet. But they always come back.” 

Ganondorf spared her a questioning glance, and she shook her head slightly. Don’t tell him don’t tell him… This really wasn’t how she had pictured it. 

“Well, let me know when they come back. Unusual monster behavior affects us too.” 

Daia had to suppress a smile. Unusual monster behavior, huh? Though she couldn’t deny the relief that he hadn’t ruined her little surprise. As they stepped away from the stable she couldn’t stop a snicker. 

“Unusual monster behavior?” 

Ganondorf shrugged, looking somewhat helpless. 

“What else was I supposed to say? I’m not about to steal your thunder.” 

“Steal my thunder?” 

That got him frowning again. It wasn’t that she had no idea what that meant, but she’d rather ask than misunderstand. And stealing thunder sounded really strange. 

“Take credit for what you did.” 

“But why thunder?” 

“I… don’t know?” 

“So we both don’t know.” 

He snorted before throwing her an amused look. 

“I probably should though. I live here after all.” 

“You can’t know everything.” 

She said it with a shrug, sounding lighthearted, but she really did mean it. Having moved like she had made her question a lot about her home, as well. How many phrases she had translated literally just to get weird stares in return, trying to explain just why she said it like that… For some, she had an explanation, for others she could just shrug and change the topic. 

“I do know one thing, though.” 

“Hm?” 

She had been so lost in thought that she almost stumbled over a rock as she looked back at him. Thankfully it was only a small one, so with a hop she regained her balance. Ganondorf just snorted, but at least didn’t comment. 

“Sand seal racing. And riding. Does that count as two things? But yeah, we’re here, and now you’re gonna learn how not to get killed in the desert.” 

Somehow she thought that telling him what she had told Maya wasn’t going to work to her benefit, not when it had been him who had saved her from quite certain death. After all, what could she have done? Climb on that rock and wait for the Molduga to leave? Though, seeing how it could swallow Claymores without problem, she wasn’t about to bet that a rock would have saved her life. Maybe she would just have been a dessert more on the crunchy side. 

Looking at the vast desert in front of her did make her somewhat squirmy, even though she had passed this area before without problem. The deep desert was where the monsters lurked. And she very dearly hoped that it would be a while before she ever had to go there again. 

Spotting them approach Shrub hopped excitedly and squawked at them. It was cute, as cute as an animal about her size and twice her weight could be. It was probably best they were domesticated and not out to attack, with those tusks... 

Slowly the reality of the situation did sink in though, and she started doubting the whole thing. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to learn, but learning new things could be so intimidating. She couldn’t have avoided it with the language, but riding a sand seal was something she didn’t exactly consider necessary. Ganondorf apparently did, even though she assured him she wasn’t interested in any more desert hikes. She had done that, right? Now she wasn’t so sure anymore. 

Well, either way this was happening. It felt wrong to back out now, and what harm could it do? She’d probably fall into sand a few times, but the only thing hurting would be her ego. So sure, she could do this. 

“You coming?” 

Ganondorf looked at her while petting Shrub before his smile turned devious. 

“What, scared already?” 

“Just thinking.” 

Determined, Daia stepped closer, though standing in front of him and Shrub she didn’t know what to do. The curse of new things. 

“So, uh. What do I do?” 

She could just see how he suppressed a laugh at her cost. He really was enjoying this way too much, but somehow she wasn’t offended. He did think he was helping her, technically he was, and she couldn’t say for sure that she wouldn’t enjoy it immensely if their roles were switched. Well, that was a thought… Maybe she should teach him climbing? Or they tried the magic, then they would be equally lost. 

“Usually, you need to start with a shield, but you’ll just use mine. And Shrub, because he knows you and he’s nice.” 

As she kneeled down on the sand she held out a hand to Shrub, who scooted closer and nudged it in a clear demand to be pet. 

“Are other sand seals not nice?” 

“Wild ones? Will drop you first chance they get. Trained ones are better, but they’re all different. Why --- when I have Shrub?” 

Well, she couldn’t argue with that. And it really was a relief not having to befriend another sand seal. If they were anything like horses and knew when their rider was inexperienced she didn’t want to know the kind of catastrophe this would be. 

She pulled out an apple and looked at Ganondorf, the question unsaid. 

“Want him to give him your food again?” 

“I brought more. But I want him to like me.” 

“Bringing ---, that’s smart. Sure, go ahead.” 

She laughed a little as Shrub’s whiskers tickled her hand, scratching his mane again. 

“Are they all so big?” 

“We’ve raised them to pull us Gerudo through the desert, so yeah, pretty much.” 

“Good thing you didn’t raise horses, they are already big enough.” 

Daia didn’t know why she was proud when Ganondorf laughed in surprise. Perhaps she enjoyed that he laughed at something that wasn’t her. Or that she felt more comfortable with every time he laughed. Maybe Maya had been right, maybe a friend her age wouldn’t hurt. Their meeting had been somewhat non-traditional, but she wasn’t about to look a gift-friend in the mouth. 

…

Well, she had done that, hadn’t she?

“So, teach me not to die?” 

“Gladly. Alright, you’ll have to stand a little differently from last time, since this time it’s just you. Here, put your foot here - no, little more to the middle.” 

Standing on a shield like that was somewhat strange, and she felt like she was losing her balance multiple times as he repositioned her feet into what he thought was the perfect stance. He mostly just pointed, which she was glad for, she already felt stupid enough without having someone else move her feet. As he stood up to hand her the reins she looked down, feeling like she stood on a glorified dinner plate. 

“This is strange.” 

“You’ll get used to it. Plus, it gets better once you’re already moving. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to be pulled through the desert on your feet.” 

“I’d get sand boots again.” 

“Yeah, even these would fill up.” 

“Thank you, again. For the clothes. I wasn’t fully awake earlier.” 

Ganondorf seemed surprised, his eyes widening ever so slightly, before he looked away with a tense smile. Had she said something wrong? Did he not know how to react to gratitude? He always seemed to wave her off or change the topic whenever she thanked him. 

“Trying to distract me? Won’t work. Here, the grip is pretty much the same, just a little more space -” 

As he showed her where to hold the reins she spared him an unamused glance before focusing on the task at hand again. Thanking people for their help was just basic manners, and if he wasn’t used to that, well, he would be by the time she could ride a sand seal. Apparently she wouldn’t even need climbing to fluster him. Well, that was always good to know. 

“Alright, good to go.” 

“I feel stupid.” 

“That’s because you’re not used to it. It’ll get better.” 

For someone trying to be encouraging he looked way too much like he had to suppress a grin. It really looked like it took _effort_ not to burst out laughing, and for a moment she considered throwing some sand at him. Of course, that would require squatting down or kneeling, and she would definitely fall off the shield then. 

“You’re only allowed to laugh when I fall.” 

“Oh, you’re definitely gonna fall.” 

“How is that ...helpful?”

Daia’s biting remark felt much too weak, though she was glad she at least had remembered “helpful”. It wasn’t as strong as “reassuring” or “comforting” as she had wanted to say, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. 

“No, no, really. I fell, too. Everyone does. At least you’re shorter, there’s less of you to lean over the shield and fall. Better?” 

She squinted at him. 

“Following that… Are you saying the best body to ride a sand seal would be a ball?” 

“Uhh, kinda? Though a ball doesn’t have arms. Also it would roll off. A cube, maybe.” 

They laughed, and he was right - she did feel a little better now. Even better would have been to _see_ him fall off at least once, but she would have to make do without that. 

“Alright, how do I start falling then?” 

“You can - wait, did you ever ride a horse? The commands, and all that?” 

“Disliked it, but yes. So it’s like that?” 

“Yeah, was easier to remember. I suppose. I’m not that old that I know why they started training sand seals like horses.” 

“Could have fooled me.” 

“Ha ha, thank you.” 

“I’m serious. You could have just said you Gerudo live forever and I wouldn’t have doubted you.” 

At that, Ganondorf looked at her, frowning slightly before it morphed into a grin. 

“That’s a great power you just offered me.” 

Faking indignation she maintained eye contact, eyebrows raised for maximum effect. She almost wanted to put her hand on her chest in disbelief as well, though she didn’t want to let go of the reins, even with just one hand. 

“And you would trick me? Betray my trust? Unbelievable.” 

“Go, just go!” 

He laughed as he said it, covering his eyes with one hand. She waited a moment for him to recover, wondering how Maya could have said he was trying to act serious. He didn’t look like it at all out here, laughing at her dumb jokes.

Well, time to ride a sand seal. She swallowed her pride, or what was left of it, and carefully snapped the reins. 

“Uh, go?” 

She heard an amused snort, though she barely noticed - despite expecting it, Shrub moving forward surprised her and suddenly the reins pulled her forward. Instinctively she took a step, though the pull was too strong and she landed face first in the sand. Great. 

Ganondorf laughed, though when she looked up to glare at him he was turned away, a hand over his mouth. Well, at least he tried to be considerate. 

She stood up, dusting off her dress, and face. Shrub had stopped not far away, looking at her with his head tilted in question. 

“I didn’t mean to walk.” 

Daia looked at Shrub, though, if Ganondorf’s laughter starting anew after just becoming quieter was anything to go by, he had felt addressed. 

“You just walked right off!” 

There wasn’t even anything she could say in her own defense, even as she had walked that step she had known it was stupid, but who was she to be stronger than her reflexes? 

So, instead of saying anything, she simply huffed, picked up the shield and caught up with Shrub again. Setting the shield down she grabbed the reins again, trying her best to imitate her position from before. 

She heard Ganondorf step closer again, though he didn’t offer any advice this time, and didn’t say anything else. A quick glance told her that he was still grinning though, so all was well. 

“ _ **Okay, legs. This time, we won’t walk.**_ ”

“Did you just insult me in Inveran?” 

“No. I am a coward, maybe, but I will insult you in Hylian. Once I know enough insulting words, that is. I told my legs not to walk.” 

“Wait, no one taught you swears?” 

No one at the stable, anyway. Once, she had asked Padok, the stable owner, as he often complained about the guests, with a lot of words she couldn’t understand though the tone was unmistakable. However, at her question he had grimaced, blushed and sent her away to do something else, and told her that she shouldn’t ask things like that. She hadn’t felt like a kid in years, but this had come very close. As had many other early experiences in Hyrule, people seemed to equal her ignorance to innocence, which was more than frustrating. 

Fortunately, she knew more of the language now, and could ask the guests who didn’t know her well enough to care about her vocabulary. Some of them even seemed to find it funny, so sometimes she checked with the kids at the stable if the words she had learned were real swears. It was win win for everyone, either they learned a new swear word from other regions, or could correct her faulty ones. 

She was especially glad she hadn’t called anyone a “great fairy”, because as it turned out these fairies weren’t just legendary but also quite benevolent. Not exactly what she was going for with her insults. So after that she mostly had eavesdropped on fights, at least those that didn’t seem dangerous. She learned more that way, without having to ask. 

“I think they are embarrassed. So I learn by listening, not asking.” 

“Which ones do you know?” 

This time, she had to suppress a grin, she really didn’t want to get sidetracked again. That would only stretch out this embarrassing experience. Not that suppressing it had helped, she could feel her cheek starting to hurt from all the laughing today as she smiled at him, eyes squinted in mischief.

“I will not tell you how I would insult you. Or do you need to be teach- taught?” 

“I wouldn’t say no to Inveran swears, I’m not even going to lie.” 

“Another time, like magic.” 

“Sure.” 

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but his smile was surprisingly soft, and innocent - almost like a child’s. Well, it would suit kids as well to get excited about foreign swears. She shook her head and looked ahead again, newly determined.

“Alright, new try. Shrub, go!” 

This time, as Shrub pulled, she remembered to not move her feet, planting them firmly on the shield and leaning back slightly so her weight wouldn’t make her fall over anyway. 

That went well for only a few seconds. As soon as the shield started moving she lost her balance, and with her weight off center it simply slid out under her, making her drop the reins and fall on her ass. At least sitting on sand was more comfortable than lying in it with your face. 

“Think you’ll do left next? Or right?” 

Ganondorf snickered, though she appreciated the attempt to not burst out laughing every time. Well, the second time. She’d definitely fall over many more times. 

“I’ll steer into you, and knock you over.” 

“Shrub won’t do that to me. Sorry, little traveler.” 

She huffed, but stood up again. Another try. 

\---

After she fell off the nth time - backwards again, though this time she had at least managed to stay on for a few meters - she groaned in frustration. She glared at the sun, which was considerably higher than before, and breathed deeply, trying not to get angry at herself and learning new things. Especially not at Shrub or Ganondorf, they didn’t deserve it. Well, maybe the latter did, just a little - he had immensely enjoyed her failed attempts. 

Though, just as she thought about it, she heard sand crunch and found him sitting next to her, head tilted slightly and looking much more serious. 

“You good?” 

“No, I feel stupid. I should know balance! I climb all the time! I can even ride a horse, though I hate it, but I can do it! This? Shrub barely moves and I already stumble.” 

Daia dragged her hands across her face, almost yelling in frustration as she got sand in her eyes. Her own fault. She sat up, rubbing at her face and trying to get the sand out. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed, not looking at Ganondorf but rather at Shrub. 

The sand seal had been more than patient with her, even now she couldn’t detect any annoyance. Not that she considered herself an expert on sand seal body language. She grabbed another apple from her bag, holding it out in invitation. He more than deserved the treat. 

As Shrub happily munched on the apple she petted him, frowning. 

“I’m not good with animals. This can’t be nice for him, having to listen to me when I fall off as soon as he moves.” 

“Shrub’s a softie, trust me. It takes much more than being a beginner to annoy him.” 

“I’m a really bad beginner though.” 

She finally looked up at him again, and he looked thoughtful, seemingly not even noticing her gaze. After a moment he sighed and scratched the back of his head. The smile he regarded her with looked stiff and suddenly she felt guilty. She didn’t want him to feel bad about her lack of talent, too, she was just angry at herself. 

“If it’s too annoying we can always stop here. I’ll just make you promise not to go into the desert again.” 

Suddenly, she didn’t want that. Not the stopping now, but not venturing into the desert again. Yes, it was sandy and hot and grated on her nerves, but still. It just felt wrong to even consider it. And she didn’t want to just give up now, either. 

“I don’t want to stop. I want to do this, and I want to get better, and then I can go visit you at the Oasis to insult you for making me do this. Before I can do that I’m not stopping.” 

He blinked at her owlishly, obviously taken by surprise. Perhaps it was inappropriate timing, but she couldn’t deny that he had very pretty eyes - just a few shades darker than amber, the contrast to his dark skin making them even more, well, eye-catching. And as he burst out laughing she didn’t feel like complaining, either, watching his eyes crinkle and laugh lines appear next to them. 

“Of course, what did I expect. The little traveler who braves the desert on foot to see a ruin isn’t going to stop because she falls off a sand seal a few times.” 

That made her laugh as well, bringing her back to reality. 

“Technically, not on foot.” 

“What, did you --- that I’d catch you at just the right moment?” 

“Maybe I can. How would you know?” 

“Easy, I test it.” 

And at that he pushed her back in the sand, the attack so sudden that he only needed one hand as she couldn’t even try to stop him. He started laughing again, loudly, and incredulous she joined in. 

Quickly she grabbed another apple from her pouch, shaking it for a moment to get Shrub’s attention while still making sure his owner was distracted, and threw it onto his lap. Shrub, as expected, barked happily and tackled Ganondorf, who fell over with an “Oof!”. 

This time it was her bending over, clutching her stomach in laughter. 

“Serves you right!” 

While she did enjoy a good prank, Daia also valued her life, so she stood up and took a few steps back, still grinning. Though, leaning forward with a wide stance perhaps she didn’t value her life as much as she loved a good tussle. Wasn’t that interesting? She hadn’t had a playfight in years, and this was definitely not how she had imagined it. Definitely not with someone a good two heads taller than her. 

“Oh yeah?” 

He had finally shoved Shrub off, though she strongly suspected that if there had been more apples involved it wouldn’t have gone that fast. To anyone else his grin might have looked like a snarl, maybe even to her if she couldn’t hear him chuckling still. He crouched on the sand, and that was when she realized her mistake. Mistakes, even. This was his turf, and he was a trained fighter - she had no chance. 

She let out a quick nervous chuckle, taking another step back. 

Ganondorf struck and she stumbled back, and for a second she thought he had missed - but then he grabbed her ankle and _pulled_. With a yell she landed back in the sand, laughing uncontrollably as he dragged her back to him through the sand. 

“Can’t even dodge that? Maybe you should eat something more than apples. Jerky, maybe. Here, I have some!” 

She covered her mouth with her hands, still laughing even though her stomach and cheeks started to hurt. 

“Nooo! No jerky, I’ll be nice!” 

“Yeah? Promise?” 

He was laughing, too, attempting to shove the jerky through her fingers and then under her hands when it didn’t work. 

“Promise! I promise!” 

“Alright, I suppose you learned your lesson. I can let you live.” 

And he let go, leaning back with a smug smile on his face, arms crossed. Though still holding the jerky. 

As Daia got back up again she had to clutch onto her stomach, it still hurt from laughing so much. She even had to wipe away a few tears from the corners of her eyes. Sitting down at a comfortable distance she tried to catch her breath again, breaking out into small snickers again and again. 

“Here, you eat this. It’s got your spit all over it.” 

He really held out the jerky to her, and his smile told her he knew exactly what he was doing. 

“Ha! And who’s fault is that?” 

“Yours.” 

She snatched the jerky from his hand, shaking her head. Guess she had to eat that now.

“Next time, we’re doing this in the mountains. I’ll be gone up the cliff before you can blink.” 

“In the mountains there’s no Shrub to weaponize.” 

“I’ll find something else.” 

“Throwing magic rocks at me, maybe?” 

“I’ll throw some at you right now if you don’t stop being so, so - what’s that word? Like a cuckoo, all proud and like this!” 

She puffed out her chest and angled her arms downwards, looking like she didn’t know in which direction to flex. To complete the ridiculous demonstration she puffed out her cheeks as well. 

It was absolutely no surprise that Ganondorf threw his head back again, guffawing. As he recovered, still out of breath, he managed to actually tell her the word she had been looking for though, so she guessed it had been worth it. 

“Do you - pff. Do you mean smug?” 

“Yeah, smug!” 

“Alright, alright. I’ll be nice, I promise. Why don’t we take a break, eat something, and then you continue practice?” 

She sighed, looking down miserably at the jerky she was still holding. 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

\--- 

At the end of the day Daia hadn’t gotten much better, though she didn’t fall off completely anymore. Instead, she could now anticipate in which direction she was falling, and could take a step to balance herself again. She still stumbled off the shield, but she had managed to stay on for a few meters multiple times now. Small victories, and all that. 

They were now on the way back, and she remembered that she had wanted to ask about the clothes. 

“Do I change, and give you these back? I got them all dirty, I could wash them first.” 

Ganondorf frowned at her, blinking twice in confusion. 

“What do you mean? They’re for you, you keep them.” 

“But they must have been expensive, and I can’t even pay!” 

“You don’t pay for a gift. Do you not have gifts in Invera?”

“Of course we do. But this is too much, I haven’t even done anything for you!” 

“How about this, then. Keep them. You’ll need them when you go into the desert. And when you come insult me at the Oasis, stay a while and teach me your weird rock magic. Deal?” 

Pouting, she answered. 

“It’s not weird rock magic. And what if I want to learn your magic, too? Then it’s unfair again.” 

“You can always help out at the Oasis, there’s tons of people who need help. I help you, you help someone else, like some… circle of kindness. Or something.” 

Well, that caused her to deflate.

“Pff. Circle of kindness? But sure, fine. Thank you, then. Circle of kindness.” 

They got closer to the stable, and what she heard distracted her too much to make fun of “the circle of kindness” even more. Apparently Toren had visited the monster camp again, and they had come back exactly at the right time. 

“It doesn’t make sense, they used to come back much sooner! Destroying the camp never did anything to stop them, but now the whole place feels weird and no monster in sight!” 

Instinctively she looked up only to find Ganondorf already looking at her. After a second they both started grinning in mutual understanding and, at least in her case, giddiness. Finally, this was her moment. 

“Actually, Toren!” 

She called out as she took some quick steps forward, Ganondorf staying behind and trying very hard to keep his smile under control. It was probably better this way, not that Toren would think he kept it from him out of some malicious intention. 

Daia, on the other hand? She could almost feel the smugness radiating off herself. 

“I didn’t get the chance to tell you before. But there won’t be any more monsters.” 

As Toren turned to her he frowned immediately. Nope, they were never going to be friends. But she could live with that. 

“What do you mean, no more monsters? That makes no sense.” 

“Sure it does. There are other ways than fighting.” 

“Yeah sure, you magically fixed everything and now we don’t have to fight monsters again, hooray!” 

“Yeah, pretty much!” 

Oh, it was so hard to not burst out laughing at his baffled stare. 

“You see, I use different magic. And now the camp is clean. That’s why it feels ‘weird’.” 

“Wha - When did you do that?” 

“Last week?” 

“And you didn’t say anything?” 

“You didn’t seem interested.”

She shrugged, though she couldn’t suppress a smile any further. 

“Didn’t seem - You didn’t even try to talk to me!” 

Okay, yelling wasn’t cool. She stopped smiling and instead fixed him with the hardest stare she had. Which probably wasn’t especially intimidating, but at least he’d see she was serious. 

“I did. I asked multiple times why you think fighting is the only way. You just got annoyed. Back on the roof? Yeah, that.” 

“You were asking all these stupid questions, I thought you didn’t understand!” 

“I didn’t! But differently. I’m not stupid, I’m just not from Hyrule. Now the camp is safe and you’re still complaining, because you didn’t realize you could learn from me, too. Too bad.” 

Toren huffed angrily, and for a moment she thought he was going to yell again, though she ended up startling in surprise as Ganondorf spoke up from behind her. 

“So, how’d you do it?” 

Confused, she turned around, hadn’t he heard? Or what was he talking about? 

“Did what?” 

“The magic. At that camp. I’m curious, we could monster-proof the Oasis more, too.” 

While talking he looked past her again and again, his smile growing wider. Slowly, it dawned on her, and as she turned around to see Toren stomp away she got the confirmation. She let out a snicker and turned back to Ganondorf. 

“Well, that was nice. Thank you. I thought he was going to yell again, but you asking was much better.” 

“Can’t believe he didn’t ask himself. I felt the effect almost immediately, and you said it’d get better, and he says it feels _weird_? And doesn’t even wanna know how you did it? What an idiot.” 

“I don’t like Toren very much.” 

“That’s fair. I wouldn’t like him much either if I was you.” 

He put his hand on her shoulder and patted once. Then, louder, he spoke up again. 

“Alright, great! So you’ll teach us at the Oasis, we’ll look forward to it. I’m sure the Chief will be pleased!” 

Oh, wow. He really was a master at subtlety. Not that she was going to complain.

“Yeah yeah I’ll teach you. Go home, you dork!” 

She laughed softly and shoved him away, or attempted to at least. He seemed to pity her feeble attempts and started walking away, though backwards at first.

“Oohh, already starting with the insults, I’m so scared. See you next week, little traveler!” 

“I’ll make sure to stay alive until then!” 

“You better!” 

They both waved, though he had already turned and couldn’t see her anymore. Still chuckling she shook her head. She had a lot of time to kill until next week. Maybe she should start with dinner.


	5. A Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess which chapter is done with a new word count record (if only by a hundred or two words) B') Only 8 weeks to go for you guys, but I promise getting there will be fun, too

The next week wasn’t much different - Ganondorf had shown up way too early, making Maya wake her up and being way too smug for that early in the morning. And Daia definitely heard that snicker as she stumbled over a bucket in her sleepiness. 

She had been up late the night before, so she was grumpier than usual, trying her best not to let it out on him. Even if he was too much of a morning person. Thus, she barely talked as they walked, only hoping he wouldn’t take it the wrong way. 

“Not a morning person?” 

“Out of practice. I worked on a farm.” 

He simply hummed, then continued to walk in silence. For a few blessed minutes she just followed him, thinking as little as possible to give her mind some more time to wake up. That helped, a little, until Ganondorf spoke up again. 

“It’s about applause. Apparently it sounds like thunder, so stealing someone’s thunder means stealing their applause.”

Daia blinked, trying to remember why applause was important somehow. Then it clicked - she had almost forgotten about their discussion. Plus, she had already asked Maya and had gotten her answer. But looking at him now she couldn’t bring herself to tell him, grumpy or not. Had he really asked someone about it just to tell her a week later? Or had not knowing bothered him so much that he wanted to find out, telling her as well? While he would probably hate it if she said so out loud, but it was almost _cute_ of him. So she simply told him what she had told Maya last week.

“Applause doesn’t sound like thunder. Why the comparison?”

Unlike Maya, who had given her an extensive explanation that hadn’t changed her opinion at all, Ganondorf just shrugged.

“Beats me.”

It made her laugh, washing away some of the grogginess and improving her mood immensely. 

“I also got you this.” 

He offered her a scroll, and a little warily, she took it. 

“More gifts?” 

“It’s that gemstone location list I promised you. Sorry it took a while.” 

Well, now she was completely awake. Eagerly she opened it up and started skimming - he had written a lot, almost the whole scroll was filled with his handwriting. Neater than expected, too. The first entry was clear quartz, with a color description and where to find it. Apparently there were two more bigger deposits in the mountains. 

“With colors?” 

She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but she did wonder. She knew what quartz looked like after all. 

“Wasn’t sure how many Hylian gem names you know, so I added them to be safe.” 

Oh, be still her heart. Scratch cute, that was just adorable. And immensely thoughtful. And apparently she couldn’t hide her thought process from him, as he grimaced and looked away from her almost immediately. 

“Thank you, really. I’ll collect some more for when I teach you magic then.”

“Don’t mention it.” 

Nope, not again. She really had to teach him how to accept thanks. 

“I will mention it. It’s a great help.” 

“Do you have to do this?” 

“Yes, because you apparently have a problem saying ‘You’re welcome’.” 

He groaned before turning to her again, disdain clear in his expression.

“Fine, you’re welcome then. Can we focus now?” 

His reluctance made her chuckle, but she decided to have some mercy on him. She was just going to play the long game, making him accept her thanks and then, ideally, other people’s thanks as well, again and again. 

“For now, yes. I’m ready to fall some more.” 

\--- 

Fall some more she did, though by the end of the day Daia felt much steadier on the shield. She had managed to stay on as long as Shrub was going straight, though sharp turns were still difficult for her to navigate. Slight curves were hit or miss, sometimes she had managed to stay on after wobbling just a bit, sometimes she had just toppled over. 

The next day, she was determined to practice some more on her own, without Ganondorf laughing at her failed attempts. He had stopped doing it as much, mostly because she had fallen over less, but she still felt awkward being watched the whole time. 

And he had mentioned wild sand seals, even pointed some out during her practice. So she had decided to try and practice with one of them. She even had everything prepared, her own (borrowed) shield, some rope she had tied into makeshift reins, and enough fruit to bribe five sand seals. 

That first day, she hadn’t managed to catch a single one. 

The second day, she had managed to get a little closer, feeding two of the sand seals some fruit, though as she tried to approach them further they bailed. 

The third day she had dumped a few pieces of fruit in front of one sand seal, sneaking behind it to attach the reins. She had ended up being dragged through the desert without her shield for a good distance before the seal shook off the reins and dumped her in the sand. 

The fourth day she had managed a little better, keeping the shield with her and even getting on it on time, though the sand seal shook her off soon enough. Hiking back had been annoying enough, even though she had tried not to ride too far from the stable. 

The fifth day she finally felt like she had practiced, riding around in the area for a few hours and only falling off a few times. Each time she had quickly recovered and her companion sand seal had only left as she had sat down to take a break. She had almost felt betrayed, having forgotten how quickly they ran. 

So on the sixth day she had made sure to steer back in the direction of the stable for a break, though she still had had to bribe a different sand seal for another afternoon practice. 

She had also asked Maya to wake her up early the next day, so when Ganondorf came to pick her up she was already waiting for him, tired but awake. 

“You’re already up?” 

“I will have to get used to early mornings again sooner or later anyway.” 

It took him a moment to follow as she made her way past him to the desert, apparently still surprised he didn’t have to wait. 

“Right, you mentioned farm work. Your parents’ farm?” 

Would it be alright for her to tell him about home? Not that he ended up asking about her arrival in Hyrule again… But it really had been so long since she had talked about Invera, and she missed it, truly. In the end she shook her head. 

“The village’s. It was big, and everyone worked together.” 

“A community farm? How many people live in your village?” 

“With me, 243. At least a year ago. A lot can happen in that time.” 

“True. Anyways, today’s practice is gonna be a little different.” 

“Oh no.” 

“You haven’t even heard my explanation yet!” 

Ganondorf looked at her, almost indignant, and she let out a small laugh. It had just slipped out, and after her individual practice she didn’t exactly feel scared of something different, but his reaction was just a little too funny. 

“Alright, let’s hear what torture you have planned for me.” 

“Do I want to know why you know the word torture? No, wait, don’t answer that. Later maybe. Here, look: Behold, Nelly!” 

The conversation had successfully kept her mind and eyes off the desert, so she only saw the second sand seal when he presented her in a flourish. 

For a moment, she couldn’t say anything, though she wasn’t sure why. It made sense to practice on other sand seals, Earth, she had done it herself, and he didn’t even know! And Nelly as a trained seal should be much easier to handle than a wild sand seal, so she shouldn’t be so nervous about this. 

But then again… Nelly was trained, and was here with Ganondorf, and wouldn’t just run off again after her practice. Daia felt like it was important that Nelly liked her. 

“I know Nelly, she’s nice, really - I also brought you a shield. It won’t do if you just ride with Shrub in circles every time, and you learn best by doing, and with her it should be no problem, really! You have to get used to other sand seals at some point, after all, and -” 

That sounded suspiciously like rambling, best to interfere. 

“Think she’ll like me?” 

Accompanied by her best hopeful smile her question successfully shut him up. And after a moment he started grinning, too. 

“If you feed her as many fruits as you spoiled Shrub with? You two will get on like a house on fire.” 

A frown.

“Please don’t even ask about house on fire, I don’t know either.” 

They shared a laugh, then she swallowed and stepped a little closer to Shrub and Nelly. Kneeling, she beckoned the latter over with an apple, throwing Shrub an apologetic look. 

“Sorry Shrub, this one’s for Nelly.” 

Slowly, the sand seal scooted closer, first sniffing her hand. Daia almost flinched, but managed to hold still. She still thought the tusks were scary, but getting startled would only startle Nelly and then they wouldn’t get along. Fear wasn’t exactly a good base for trust, more the opposite. 

After a few moments of inspecting her soon to be rider, Nelly carefully took the apple from her hand and started munching, making a noise similar to Shrub’s happy bark. 

Daia just watched, even as Ganondorf sat down next to her, baiting Shrub with a Voltfruit. 

“See, getting along already.” 

“Can I pet her?” 

“Sure, go ahead. She sniffed you, so you’re good. If you make sure she sees it’s even better.” 

So, very carefully, she reached out and started petting Nelly’s mane as she ate. Soon the sand seal was done with her apple, eagerly nudging her for another, a plea she complied with almost immediately. 

“You two will be best friends when we get there, I can already see.” 

That made Daia blink. What was he talking about?

“Get where?” 

“Huh? Oh. Right, you interrupted me earlier.” 

“Don’t blame me! You were explaining why I shouldn’t ride Shrub for the third time!” 

She gave him a playful nudge with her elbow, making him chuckle. 

“Didn’t even feel it. But yeah, I thought we could aim for the Oasis today. I think you’d like it, and we can go slow - the road’s easy, almost straight, so even you should manage.” 

“Why thank you, so much trust! I’ll have you know that I no longer fall on straight roads, anyway.” 

“Wait, what? How?” 

He looked at her, flabbergasted, and she shrugged defensively. Suddenly she wondered if that had been a good idea after all, she may not have encountered any monsters but that could have been dumb luck, too.

“I practiced?”

Not enough, he was already opening his mouth again to ask some more. She grimaced before finishing her explanation quickly.

“With wild sand seals. You know, you pointed some out. I made some reins and borrowed a shield and I only really practiced yesterday and the day before. It took some time to figure them out. But I’m fine! No monsters, no anything. I stayed close to the stable.” 

While talking she had successfully avoided eye contact, rather petting Nelly’s mane to distract herself. But after she had been quiet for almost a minute and Ganondorf still hadn’t said anything she looked up again, finding him staring at her like he hadn’t actually seen her before. After another few moments she started feeling awkward. 

“Uhhh…” 

“You practiced with wild sand seals?” 

“That’s what I said?” 

Slowly he started smiling, though Daia was still unnerved. This wasn’t exactly the reaction she had expected.

“You practiced sand seal riding, which you didn’t even want to do when we started, with the meanest sand seal population you could find.” 

“Hey, I never said I didn’t want to!” 

Instead of any verbal rebuttal he simply cocked an eyebrow with a shit-eating grin on his face, and she had to admit defeat. Not without grumbling, though. 

“Okay, yeah, fine. Maybe not directly. But not because I didn’t want to know! I told you I’m bad with animals!” 

“Yeah, Nelly obviously thinks so, too.” 

Said sand seal had been nudging her again, looking up at her and barking happily. Daia was going to feed her all her apples before they even started riding. Not that that stopped her from giving in again. 

“I am. Bad with animals. If you could have seen me back home you would have laughed at me. I startle when a horse, you know, makes that horse sound.” 

“Neighing?” 

“Yes, that.”

“Pff, I’d love to see that. And still you're staying at the stable. But, on a serious note, I’m impressed. You didn’t have to, but you went out of your way to practice.” 

She squinted at him, trying to detect any joke she might have missed, finding none. The irony of her staying at a stable wasn't lost on her, never had been, in fact. But she was not going to get into that now.

“I thought you would tell me how dangerous it was, going into the desert alone.” 

“Oh it definitely was. But you stayed out of trouble for a whole week before, I should have known this was coming.” 

That just earned him a flat look. 

“I’m not looking for danger.” 

“Danger just magically finds you, I know. After all, who expects monsters in the desert? Or the mountains?” 

“No monsters in the mountains!” 

“You just got lucky, there’s tons there.” 

“Urgh!” 

Frustrated, she dragged her hands across her face. Ganondorf just started laughing and she punched him in the arm, even if he probably “didn’t feel anything” again. He definitely felt it, just because she couldn’t fight didn’t mean she was weak, can’t scale cliffs without muscles after all. He was just bragging. 

Standing up she glared at him, while he was still grinning smugly. 

“Alright, let’s just go. I said I’d insult you when I get to the Oasis, and I very much want to do that now.” 

“Fine, fine. Should I stay behind you, in case you fall?” 

“I don’t know where to go, I don’t think either of us wants that.”

“... Right. I forgot about that. Alright, then stay behind me - Nelly will probably automatically follow, so win win, actually.”

“I bet she’ll follow if I throw an apple at you. Worked with Shrub.” 

“Won’t be able to knock me over while I’m standing, sorry.” 

He turned towards Shrub, though she grabbed his sleeve before he could take just one step. He looked back to her immediately, question apparent on his face. 

“ _Are_ there monsters? Maybe I was just lucky, I don’t know. But are there monsters on the way? Do I need to prepare?” 

All jokes aside, she knew she wasn’t anywhere close to qualifying as a fighter. And as often as Ganondorf warned her about the monsters in the desert, she could only assume there were some on the road to the Oasis. 

But he just snorted and pulled down her headdress with his free hand, making her call out in surprise. As she fumbled with the cloth she glared up at him, though he only smiled. 

“It wouldn’t be our main road if we just let monsters roam freely. And even if we meet any, you just make sure to stay back and let me handle it. Alright?” 

“Fine. But if I feel in danger, I _will_ throw rocks.” 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way. Ready?” 

“As ready as I will ever be.” 

“Right, take this then. The reins are attached.” 

With that he handed her a shield, about half the size of his shield. That was just fine, his had felt much too big anyway, and the one she had practiced with had been smaller, too. She petted Nelly one last time before taking the reins and getting in position. Looking up Ganondorf was already watching her, tilting his head in question, and she nodded in response. She hadn’t lied, she was as ready as she ever would be. Which wasn’t completely ready, but it would have to do. 

As promised, they started slow, at first he even stayed next to her. 

“You really did practice, you haven’t even stumbled once!” 

“Obviously, the stumbling will happen when we get there. To complete the trip.” 

“I’ll take your word for it. Try to keep up.” 

And with that he took the lead, only pointing out certain landmarks at times. Which didn’t happen too often, given that they were traveling through the desert. The most remarkable thing was a patrolling Gerudo, whom Ganondorf greeted fleetingly. Daia almost fell as she craned her neck to see her again, though she quickly regained her balance. Sadly, without catching another good look. 

It didn’t take too long, just about half an hour, until she spotted something behind a dune - roofs, and the beginnings of houses, a wall, and finally the Oasis Town in full. To her surprise, the town wasn’t limited to just the city walls, but rather surrounded by a giant settlement. More people, more houses, even a few tents scattered about. 

She was so taken by the sight that she didn’t notice Ganondorf getting slower, and also didn’t notice that Nelly slowed down as well, just as she had adapted to his speed the whole ride. 

“Daia?” 

“Huh?” 

Hearing him behind her made her pull the reins abruptly, causing Nelly to do a full stop. In her surprise she forgot all she had learned, stumbled, and fell off the shield. Kneeling in the sand between the shield and Nelly she could hear Ganondorf’s laughter, and after a moment of absolutely baffled silence she joined in. She had jinxed it after all. 

“See? True to my word.”

“I cannot believe you can predict things after all. So what, you let me win that fight to catch me off guard?” 

“Definitely. Also, even predicting wouldn’t have helped me fight _you_ in the desert. Like I said, I’d need a cliff to win.” 

“Oh for sure. If by winning you mean getting away. Wait here for a moment, I’ll drop off Shrub and Nelly.” 

Daia was still chuckling as she dusted off her clothes, feeling mirthful at the memory of their tussle. She watched as he led the two sand seals towards a booth manned by a Gerudo, behind her she could see an enclosure filled with other seals. “Sand seal rental” she could read above the booth, though there was something else written in Gerudo. Perhaps the same thing, in both languages, to be safe. 

It took a few minutes, though neither booth lady nor Ganondorf looked tense during their conversation. Once, the lady looked her way, looking surprised - Daia tensed, waving at her with a small smile. She couldn’t hear her, but saw her laugh and wave back. After a few more moments Ganondorf returned, though he didn’t just stop in front of her, rather waving her in the direction of the city walls. 

“Good to go? Then we’ll go inside.” 

First she nodded, but trotting after him she looked at all the people bustling about, wondering why there was an outside to begin with. 

“Why are people outside? Is the town not big enough?” 

“... Right. Somehow I always forget that you’re not from here.” 

“I’m flattered, that you say that despite my accent.” 

“Hard to miss, but it’s cute. Didn’t mean that though. Somehow I just think that things should be obvious, but they aren’t, because you haven’t grown up with all our rules and traditions.” 

Cute? Did she hear that right? And how on earth was she supposed to interpret that? 

… 

Well, she could deal with that thought another day. She wasn’t here to be cute, after all. In any way. She just hoped he hadn’t noticed her mental hiccup, but no, he had just continued with his explanation. 

“This out here is the outer town, inside the walls no men are allowed. Except me, because I’m Gerudo. It was easier before I was born, they had to rewrite the law to say ‘no non-Gerudo men’. And that’s already a ---, but at least Hyruleans get it.”

Simpli- what? Simple she knew, then a simplification would be similar. But there were more urgent questions.

“Why no men?” 

“It’s an --- thing, I think? About the control to approach someone, or not. Growing up with almost exclusively women, it’s a new step for anyone interested in men to go out and meet some. This is a safe ---, and frankly, enough men try to sneak in to know why we uphold that law.” 

“Agency is control?” 

“Yeah, something like it.” 

“And when someone isn’t interested in men?” 

“Then they’re lucky and don’t have to put up with any. Again, except me on occasion, but that’s for different reasons.” 

“Politics.” 

“Exactly.”

They stopped right in front of the gate, two guards standing on each side. 

Daia could see them exchanging a glance, then nodding in Ganondorf’s direction, letting them pass. Walking by she stayed a step behind, comparing his height with those of the guards - he really was shorter than them. It took all her strength to not at least snicker, but she really didn’t want to explain that thought process in front of everyone. Way to leave a first impression. 

“Normally, they would have to question you. Ask your name, what you’re doing here, just to know how long you’ll stay and stuff like that.” 

“In case I’m bad?” 

“That, or you randomly disappear and we need to know whether to look for you or not. Would be annoying to send out a search party while you relax back at the stable.” 

“And they didn’t ask because of you?” 

“They correctly assume that I know all that already, and it’s unlikely they’ll have to send out a search party for me.” 

“Is there anything I should do _here_? Like, bow, or something?” 

A valid question, in her opinion - she didn’t want to offend anyone because she didn’t treat the chief’s son appropriately. But Ganondorf stopped and looked at her, not a hint of a smile on his face. 

“Daia, I swear by Din. If you bow to me, I will kick you out myself.” 

She choked in surprise, which morphed into a laugh as she raised her arms in defense. 

“Alright, no bowing. I’ll remember.” 

“You better. So, do you want a tour?” 

“Yes please!” 

\---

Daia loved the Oasis. The gigantic lake at the center, with man made (“Gerudo made, so mostly women made, actually”) branches turning into little streams, making sure the water reached all of the inside and the outside town. 

The houses were all tall, two or three stories. Enough space for multiple families and additionally offering some shade, according to her guide. He had taken off his headdress, too, and it was the first time she had seen his hair in full. Long, down to the middle of his back, red, and unruly. Her fingers had itched with the need to braid it, but even she knew how inappropriate even asking for that was.

The market place located around the closest branch was bustling with people, mostly Gerudo, but she saw a few Hylian - Hyrulean travelers, too, both with round and pointy ears. There even were two humanoid birds, from the Rito, a race she hadn’t heard of before. Given their avian talents that made sense, why would someone ride a horse or stay at a stable if they could fly? If she could fly she would never even look at a horse again. When she told Ganondorf that he laughed, nudged her, and asked if that notion applied to sand seals, too, and to be careful what she said lest Shrub and Nelly would be disappointed. So she agreed that sand seals could stay - at least they were shorter than her. 

One tailor tutted and pulled and tugged on her dress, admonishing her for wearing something so obviously too big. As she admitted that Ganondorf had brought her that the tailor glared at him and Daia wasn’t surprised at all that he pulled her away quickly, though she had to suppress a laugh. 

“Don’t rat me out like this, really. Now she’ll nag me until I get you something better.” 

“But it’s fine, I don’t need anything else.” 

“Try telling that to Calisa, she was born with a needle in her hand.” 

“Well, maybe I would have, if you hadn’t dragged me away.” 

He looked at her, the definition of skepticism. 

“Sure. You know, I’m almost tempted to go back and have you proof it, but that’s a fight neither of us can win, so I will save you from the embarrassment.” 

“Why thank you, but it’s not necessary. Hard to embarrass me when I have to ask embarrassing things every day.” 

“Nothing --- you, huh. Hey, I know where to go next. This way.” 

She wasn’t sure if that was just a distraction technique, but she wasn’t about to complain when she saw where he was headed - a jewelry store, and she could see some pieces with gemstones displayed outside. 

“Ashai? You there?” 

Did he just know everyone by name? Was that a thing a chief’s son would have to know? 

“In the back!” 

Following the voice he ushered her towards the back of the shop, where a woman was sitting at a workbench, twisting some fine golden metal string with some pliers. As they stepped closer the woman put her tools down and turned, one eyebrow raised in question. She was on the older side, though her hair was still bright red and put up in a ponytail. Her eyes were dark brown, and her smile a little too knowing. 

“And to what do I owe this pleasure?” 

“Ashai, this is Daia, from the stable. She’s the one with rock magic.” 

“It’s still not rock magic!” 

She hissed and almost nudged him with her elbow, only stopping herself because she didn’t want to be too obvious. She did feel flustered though, feeling her cheeks get hot. That was not how her magic worked and not how she would describe it, just because he had only seen her using gems… 

“So that’s your little friend you needed my list for. I’m Ashai, a pleasure.” 

“Uh, hi. I’m Daia! By list, do you mean-?” 

She trailed off, looking up at Ganondorf who nodded. 

“Told you I’d ask around.” 

Beaming, Daia turned back to Ashai, all previous timidness forgotten. 

“Thank you, too! I didn’t bring any gems from home, so the list will be really helpful.” 

“You’re more than welcome, just leave enough for the rest of us. I do admit I am curious what you use them for.” 

“I can show you? Well, not everything, obviously. But as example?” 

Ashai leaned back in her chair, looking like the cat with the cream. But Daia didn’t care if that was what she had in mind to begin with, it wasn’t much effort after all. 

“Well, how could I refuse that offer? I’ll watch gladly.” 

“Great, knew you two would get along. I’ll have to drop by the palace for a moment, just to say I’m back - Daia, you’ll be fine here, right?” 

“Sure?” 

She had barely time to wave before Ganondorf did the same and hurried outside, disappearing in the crowd. Daia frowned as she turned back to Ashai. 

“Did he just make you babysit me?” 

Ashai blinked once, then she cracked up. All seriousness Daia had felt from her before fell away, and she was left with a middle aged woman who was just enjoying a good laugh. Still chuckling, she stood up and dragged a nearby chair towards the workbank, patting the seat in invitation.

Daia sat, angling the chair a little so she could still face her. Then she realized she had no idea what she should show Ashai - gemstones had lasting effects, and mostly highly specific uses. She had mostly brought the quartzes and a few amethysts, nothing that was really useful for a demonstration. 

“Anything you want to see? Magic, I mean?” 

Ashai tapped her chin, then smiled. 

“Do you know anything with a cooling effect? That’d be quite useful for us out here.” 

“Cooling, **_Sapphire_ ** makes it cold, I need to see if I have any…”

As she rummaged through her pouch she had to admit she carried none, not that she was surprised, why would she? Her frown wasn’t lost to Ashai. 

“Describe the gem. Maybe I have one you can use, and then I can keep it and sell it as jewelry.” 

“Sure, uhm, blue, and see through? Like old ice, high in the mountains. The Hylian name was something with S?” 

“Sapphire?” 

Ashai opened a few of the drawers near her, taking a small box outside and handed it to her. Opening it, Daia found a dozen and more sapphires of different sizes in it and lit up. 

“That’s it! Sapphire, alright. Pick one I should use?”

As she took out the small gem Ashai had pointed out she put the box back on the workbench. Then she covered the sapphire with her hand and focused. This wasn’t as urgent or important as cleaning the monster camp had been, but she still wanted to do this right. Plus, it had been ages since she had used sapphire - the chilly effect mostly wasn’t needed in Invera, it definitely didn’t get as hot as the desert, even during summer. 

“ _ **Bring a chill, and keep it for your wearer. The desert’s sun is unforgiving.**_ ”

Daia had to smile as she felt the gem cooling down rapidly, down to a more than welcome chill. Even inside the shop it was warm, but with the sapphire now in her hand Daia felt as cold as she hadn’t since the last winter. Not that that had been terribly cold - her last winter she had already spent at the stable, and so close to the desert it hadn’t even snowed. 

She handed the gem to Ashai, whose eyes widened in surprise. Balancing it on her hand she smiled at Daia. 

“Incredible - like all the heat is sucked away.” 

“It will stay that way, once the magic is awake. Back home we only had to make new ones if we lost the old ones. As kids… we lost many.” 

“And should it break?” 

Daia grimaced, making a so-so motion with her hand. 

“Sometimes it keeps working, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a, a gamble?” 

“Good to know. Pasha, sweetie, why don’t you come over?” 

Hearing steps behind her, Daia turned and blinked as she came face to face with a child. The kid narrowed her eyes at her before hurrying over to Ashai, almost hiding behind her chair. Ashai laughed and tousled the girl’s short hair. 

“Daia, this is my daughter, Pasha. Pasha, this is Daia, the prince’s friend.” 

“He has friends?” 

Ashai looked appalled while Daia choked to not burst out laughing. 

“Pasha!” 

“What, he’s not here! And he’s always grumpy!” 

Alright, that was just too much. Daia wheezed, leaning her arm on the desk as she tried to bring her breathing under control again. 

“He really is, isn’t he? Always like -” 

And she crossed her arms and frowned as deeply as she could. Ashai looked unimpressed, but Pasha giggled as she hid behind the chair again. 

“Alright, enough talking bad about the prince. Pasha, come over here, do you want a new necklace?” 

Pasha walked in front of her mother who scooted back on her chair a little. From her vantage point Daia couldn’t see much, but she could see how Ashai held the sapphire on Pasha’s chest, up, down, until she nodded. 

“This a good length?” 

“Yes!” 

“Then I’ll make it into a pendant for you. Here, hold it. Daia used some magic on it.” 

“Magic?” 

Pasha threw her a wary look over her shoulder, then took the sapphire from her mother. 

“It’s cold!” 

The girl swiveled around, fixing Daia with an inquisitive look. And like that wasn’t clear enough, she held the gem right in her face, obviously demanding an explanation.

“Yeah, I used a spell to make it chilly!” 

With a smile Daia gently pushed Pasha’s hand down and away from her face, though her expression still brimmed with unasked questions. 

“I’ve never seen a spell like that. How did you do it?” 

“Uhhh... “ 

Glancing at Ashai Daia tried to ask for help - she wasn’t entirely sure how much she really wanted to know, or how to explain, and hoped her mother would interfere. Ashai however simply handed her another sapphire with a knowing grin. Daia took it, but not without throwing her an unimpressed glare. She did soften it with a smile though, using magic wasn’t a problem for her. 

“So, another. I basically just ask the sapphire to be cold? But with magic, and it works. _**Keep your wearer cool, please**_ _ **.**_ ”

“What did you say?” 

“Uhm, I asked it to keep the person wearing it cool.” 

“Did it work? And does it have to be in that language?” 

Daia handed the stone to Pasha, and almost laughed when her eyes widened just as her mother’s had before. There really was an obvious similarity between the two. 

“It doesn’t have to be my language, it doesn’t even have to be with words. But words help me focus, and having to translate takes away too much concentration.” 

“Where are you from?” 

“Alright, Pasha, maybe you should ask Daia first before you interrogate her like that.” 

“ _Can I_ interrogate you like that?” 

Daia snorted at the bluntness and smiled as reassuringly as she could. 

“I’ll tell you when I don’t want to answer a specific question. But curiosity is good. That’s how we learn.” 

Pasha glanced between her and Ashai, slowly stepping closer to Daia. Whatever question she had on her face, she got her answer. Her mother sighed, then nodded at them with a smile. 

“Fine. I’ll tell the prince where you two went. Pasha, be nice, and be back for dinner.” 

“Yes! Thank you, Mom. Here, the gem.” 

“Wait, where are we going? Am I going?” 

Daia wasn’t sure what exactly Pasha had just received permission for, and how exactly that tied into being interrogated. 

“I’ll show you my favorite place in town, and I get to question you!” 

“Oh, uh, win win?” 

“Win win!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've also added two tags I realize I should have added from the beginning. There will be racist behavior towards the Gerudo, though condemned by the narrator and the protagonists, as well as alcohol consumption in at least one future chapter.  
> It's possible there will be future tag edits as I flesh out the Outline and the Story, but I won't tag these things when the respective chapter is up - I want people to know what they're getting into as soon as possible, so it might get a little confusing. Sorry about that!


	6. A lot of Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally uploaded this for like ten seconds a few days ago, so if anyone noticed and wondered about it - my bad  
> Ch10 isn't finished yet, it's a little tricky to write - a filler chapter before I start with the next subplot, but an important filler. At least it'll be shorter than the preceding ones, so that's something

Pasha was a curious young girl, almost 13, as Daia had learned following her through the streets. They passed by many stalls and shops, left the market and went deeper into the city, the kind of streets tourists got lost in. Past the roofs of the nearby houses she could see the city wall getting closer and closer, so she wasn’t surprised when that was where Pasha made a full stop before regarding her with a strange mix of judgment and hope. 

“Are you afraid of heights?”

Daia couldn’t help it, she laughed. It really was more common here, huh. 

“My parents say I climbed before I walked. No fear here.” 

“Great! My friends are always scared, but the view is amazing!” 

And with that Daia was dragged towards a ladder leaning at the wall, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that was considered a safety hazard - no need to make it easier for intruders to get in, no? But Pasha climbed up without hesitation, so she shrugged off her concerns and followed her up. 

And Pasha had been right, the view was amazing. From their vantage point they had a clear sight of the outer town, as well as the desert behind it all the way to the mountain pass in the distance. Daia really wanted to see the sunset from here, she could only imagine how mesmerizing that view would be. 

“Pretty, right?” 

“I don’t think I know enough words to describe this.” 

“Are you from far away?” 

“Invera, by the white cliffs.” 

“I don’t think I’ve heard of that place.” 

She let out a chuckle, that was no surprise. Not even everyone at the stable had known her home before she had arrived, so she hadn’t expected it from a child. 

“That’s how far away it is.” 

“Did you not like it there? Or why do you live here?” 

“That’s… complicated. And actually one thing I don’t want to explain.” 

Pasha was silent for a moment, then asked another question. As curious as she was, she respected her boundaries - Daia was glad, if positively surprised.

“Do you like it better here?” 

Did she? It was certainly more exciting than her home village, and meeting new people hadn’t been as terrifying as she had imagined when her parents told her to go see the world. And she couldn’t deny that especially during the past few weeks she had had much more fun than during her routine back home. 

Even though she missed her family, her friends, and the cliffs she knew like the back of her hand, she couldn’t just say that it had been better there. But that thought alone - did she prefer Hyrule? - made her feel nauseous. 

She also realized that she hadn’t followed up on what she had learned in Din’s old temple at all, hadn’t read anything, hadn’t asked around, nothing. Why hadn’t she? She wanted to go home, but she didn’t even try, too distracted by everything else. Too distracted by her newfound friendship with Ganondorf. 

“Daia? You don’t have to answer, sorry…” 

Pasha’s voice brought her back to reality, and she hurried to compose herself so she could reassure her. 

“No, sorry, I just… got lost in my mind? No, that’s…” 

“Lost in thought?” 

“Yes, that. I miss home, but I like it here. I don’t know which is better, so I tried to think about it.” 

“Are you really friends with the prince?” 

A change of topic, perfect. 

“Yeah, I think so? He always comes to the stable now, and he’s teaching me how to ride a sand seal. That’s why I’ll teach him how to do magic the way I do it.” 

Pasha didn’t look convinced, expression twisted into a slight frown. 

“I can’t picture that at all. He’s always acting so busy, and he’s no fun.” 

“Oh, I’ve seen him be serious. Mostly when he thinks I’m looking for danger.” 

“Are you… looking for danger a lot?” 

“No!”

Daia almost slapped her hand over her mouth, her indignant outcry almost instinctive. Then she chuckled and continued calmer. 

“I’m not looking for it, never. But he did save me from a Molduga when we first met, so that was his first impression. It was an accident because I didn’t know, and it definitely won’t happen again. But he won’t believe me and always says I need to be more careful.”

“Moldugas are nasty.” 

“They really are. That one ate a Lizalfos right before my eyes, including the Claymore.” 

“There was a Lizalfos too?”

“That tried to attack me first.” 

Pasha considered her with a flat look, looking both much older than 12 and somehow exactly her age at the same time. 

“I think if I met you that way I’d think you should be more careful, too.” 

“I suppose that’s fair. I am more careful now, promise.” 

They both looked ahead, the different sounds from the outer town fading into the background. Daia thought she could get lost in this view very easily, it was no wonder Pasha considered this her favorite place. 

“Can I ask you something else?” 

Only half-aware, Daia hummed, still looking ahead. 

“What are men like?” 

Well, that made her blink. What were men like? How should she even answer that? 

“What are… men like?” 

“I mean, I know some! I know the prince, and some of the men living in the outer town, but like, what are they _like_? Are they nice? Mom says men are stupid, and that she’s glad my Dad didn’t want to move here with us.” 

Daia was reeling, just a little. She was not ready to give this kid _the talk_ , or anything else of the sorts, but she looked really determined to get those answers out of her. Well, time to take a risk then.

“I mean, some men are stupid? But not all of them? Some, uh, some think they’re almost right. Some don’t want to learn. But some…” 

She sighed, thinking of home again. The nostalgia hurt, but still made her smile. 

“Some dance with your Mom at every festival, even though neither of them can dance well. Some offer your best friend a place to stay after she had a fight with her parents. Some teach you magic, and where to find the tastiest apples in the forest. There are bad men, and good men. You meet them all, I think.” 

“Do you like them?” 

“How do you mean, like?” 

“Do you want to marry one?” 

Okay, back to the reeling. The last time she had considered marriage had pointedly not been with a man, and it had been more of a fleeting idea than anything serious, anyway. 

“I… don’t know? I suppose, if I meet one I really like?” 

“Like the prince?” 

That made her choke in surprise. Coughing, she tried to control her breathing again, though the shock of that question didn’t make things easier. After almost a minute of spluttering, she faced Pasha with the most serious expression she could muster, still out of breath. 

“I’ve known Ganondorf for a month, that is way too early to think about anything like that.” 

“But some day?” 

Some day, she was hopefully back in Invera or at the very least could leave Hyrule again. 

“Uhm…” 

“Or not, because of the legends?” 

Pasha frowned deeply as she asked, though Daia had no idea what she was talking about. Like a few times before, she felt like this was something people expected her to know but she had no idea how to ask about it. Although… 

_‘That boy is so caught up in the past.’_

Was this related to what Maya had said? Did she want to know? Should she know or was it better not to ask? She had told Maya she wasn’t interested, but back then she had thought ‘past’ was limited to his past, not _legends_.

“Legends…?” 

“You don’t know? About the past Ganondorfs, and Ganon, and -” 

Daia held up her hands, almost frantic. This wasn’t right, she couldn’t ask a _child_ about her friend’s problems, and if this really was related to all those times he seemed uncomfortable for no reason she could discern - she couldn’t imagine how betrayed she would feel in his place. 

“Don’t. I don’t know, but I don’t need to. If he wants to tell me about it that’s fine, but I don't. I don’t need to know.” 

“Are you scared?” 

“Not the way you think. He jokes with me, and he has fun, but everyone says he’s always serious. I don’t know why there’s this difference, and if it’s related to these legends, or if they are important at all. But I don’t want him to change. I like the way things are.” 

Pasha just looked at her, and she couldn’t read her expression. After a moment the girl sighed and looked ahead again. 

“They are pretty important. But you’re right, I think if you knew he wouldn’t joke with you anymore. He doesn’t do it with anyone in town, and we all know.” 

Daia felt her stomach twist, though she didn’t say anything else, looking out towards the desert again without focusing on anything. She couldn’t help but wonder what these legends could be about, but she really didn’t want to ask Pasha, or anyone behind Ganondorf’s back, or ask him and make him uncomfortable. Plus, she really didn’t think she _wanted_ to know. She could just pretend this part of the conversation never happened. 

“Why were you near a Molduga, anyway? They only live far from where people are.” 

From her voice Daia could sense that Pasha was still somewhat tense, though she felt grateful for the easier topic. 

“I was looking for Din’s old temple and wanted to rest at some ruins on the way, but then the Lizalfos showed up.” 

“You’re interested in old temples?” 

With that, all tension was swept away as Pasha turned to her, eyes wide and grinning. Daia swore she could almost see the sparkles in her eyes. 

“I guess?” 

“There’s some temple near the mountain pass, that way -” 

And she pointed, far, far into the desert. Daia squinted, but couldn’t see anything but sand and sand colored rocks. And the mountains, of course. 

“And it’s supposed to be suuuper interesting, I read about it at the library, and I really want to go but Mom says it’s too dangerous. I asked if I could go with someone else, but she still said no. She didn’t even ask with whom I’d go!” 

Daia tried very hard to suppress a grin, she could imagine that Ashai didn’t want her daughter out in the desert. Her own Mother would probably have stopped her too, had she been there and known about the desert trip. 

“As someone who almost got eaten by a Molduga… Your Mom is probably right.” 

Pasha blew a raspberry in her direction and pouted, crossing her arms. 

“Adults are all boring.” 

“Hey, I’m not saying-” 

“I leave you alone for half an hour and find you at one of the highest places you could find in town. Are you sure you’re not some mountain goat?” 

Daia grinned as she heard his voice, twisting around and looking down to find Ganondorf standing on the ground, hands on his hips. Next to him stood another woman, a little taller and with longer hair, but regarding him with the same shit eating grin Daia had seen on him often enough. The similarity was so striking, she’d bet they were related. 

“Maybe I am. Not like you know what a mountain goat from Invera looks like.” 

She turned around, dangling her legs off the wall casually and grinning down at him. 

“That would explain the rocks. Are you coming down any time soon or should I send word to the stable?” 

From the corner of her eyes she could see Pasha staring at her and looking absolutely baffled. Apparently she hadn’t believed that he joked with her. That, or the general disrespect the joking came with shocked her. 

Daia sighed theatrically, making a show of standing up and dusting off her dress. 

“Well, I guess I can come down. Pasha, are you coming, too?” 

Pasha just nodded, eyes still blown wide and lips tightly pressed together. Daia patted her head, hoping that would reassure her that everything was fine, then climbed down the ladder. Jumping off the last few steps and turning around she managed to do in one fluid motion, a surprise, really, even to her. 

Pasha slid down behind her, tugging on her sleeve. 

“I’ll go back home, will you come by when you visit again?” 

“Sure, then you can tell me more about that temple.” 

“Alright!” 

And with that she jumped, waved, and ran off with an energy only kids had. 

“What temple?” 

Ganondorf sounded understandably wary, and as she faced him again she had to suppress a smile at his frown. There he went again, thinking she was looking for trouble. 

“Some temple near the mountains? To be fair, I told her not to go.”

“I’m impressed. Doesn’t mean you’re not planning on going by yourself.” 

“Actually hadn’t crossed my mind, but good idea!” 

He groaned, dragging his hands across his face as he turned his back to her. The woman next to him started laughing, stepping past him closer to her. 

“I am Kalani, this idiot’s older sister. So you’re Daia?” 

A little nervously, Daia nodded - Ganondorf’s sister, as in, the next chief in line? She probably should have seen that coming, but she just couldn’t resist the banter. And now she had to live with Kalani’s first impression of her. 

“Vidaia. Faircliff. But, uh. Daia is fine. Hi!” 

Smooth, Daia, smooth. Maybe she should have just stayed quiet, that would have left her with some remnants of her dignity. 

“Ganondorf says I should tell you not to bow, is that true?” 

Daia’s anxious smile tightened some more and she looked to the side, trying to avoid a nervous chuckle. 

“Maybe I would have. I don’t know how to act, I’ve never met anyone… important. No princes, no princesses. And then the different traditions…” 

Kalani laughed, making her duck a little in embarrassment, but a hand on her shoulder made her relax again. Looking up, she found Kalani smiling warmly, head tilted slightly. 

“No bowing, please. You’re with friends here, just act like it. If my brother trusts you, I will too.” 

The hand tightened slightly. 

“But if you abuse that trust, know that you will suffer the consequences.” 

Then Kalani pulled away her hand and turned back to her brother, who was frowning at her.

“That wasn’t necessary.” 

He briefly glanced at Daia, mouth twisted in apology, his frown softening. 

“I’ll decide what’s necessary. Now have fun, kids.” 

With a pat on Ganondorf’s shoulder she left, waving once with her back still turned. Him and Daia both watched her leave, then he addressed her again. 

“Sorry she did that. She can be… ---.” 

“Over-?” 

“Uhh. Annoyingly controlling. That fits. She means well, but…” 

“I know how older sisters are, I am one. And I imagine being the next chief makes it worse.” 

“So you’re a traitor, I see.”

“I’m just saying I understand. I wouldn’t trust myself either, I suppose.” 

That made him snort, and he looked at her with thinly veiled disbelief. 

“Why wouldn’t you trust yourself? Like, what even would you do to harm us? Throwing rocks is a nuisance, alright, but we’d deal with it. Mostly by kicking you out, but you get what I mean.” 

“Just, on principle? Befriending the prince who brings me clothes, teaches me sand seal riding and gets dragged along on weird trips, that sounds weird.”

“Fine, if you wanna do something for me so badly…” 

“Please don’t say it like that.” 

“Okay, fine, ---. That’s someone who ruins fun.” 

“Thank you for teaching me so many new words, your highness.” 

Ganondorf’s almost constipated expression made her laugh, almost looking like he was in physical pain. And, despite her laughter, she believed him now that should she even attempt a bow she would be left outside the city gate to think about her actions. It did give her an idea though...

“Never call me that again, that sounds so wrong coming from you.” 

“Natural talent of never being around important people.” 

“Yeah, can’t imagine you interacting with ---. Good thing that King and his --- never come here.” 

“A King wouldn’t care about me, anyway.” 

“Don’t think that bore would appreciate rock magic, anyway.” 

Daia huffed, crossing her arms. That was the last time he would call Inveran magic rock magic. 

“It’s not rock magic! We use everything. Spirits are in everything, remember? Magic isn’t limited to gemstones!” 

“It’s not?” 

She glared at him, unimpressed, and he shrugged defensively. 

“Alright alright. It’s not. But great, actually, because the day is still young and I’m not gonna say no to more Inveran not-rock magic explanations.” 

As she blinked her expression softened to mild confusion before she connected the dots. She had promised, after all, and she wasn’t going back on that, but she hadn’t expected the trip today to involve any magic teaching. Not that she was complaining, Ganondorf was right - the day was still young, and thanks to him and Pasha she had seen most of the inner city already. That was enough new things for her for one day. 

“So that’s why we came here today?” 

She hadn’t meant to sound questioning, but oh well. 

“See, this is why Kalani will be the next chief. I’m not subtle enough to be manipulative.” 

He turned slightly, away from the wall, and motioned for her to follow. With a spring in her step Daia tried to keep up. Back through the streets, then. 

“No, you’re more the type to frown at someone until they give in.” 

“Hasn’t worked with you so far.” 

Focused on their conversation she almost ran into someone, though he pulled her back on time. He frowned briefly and exaggeratedly, before snickering as he let her go. 

Daia raised her chin and grinned. 

“That’s because I’m special.” 

“Yeah, definitely special. How special is the question.” 

“Given there’s no one else from home to compare, you’ll have to guess.” 

“Really? No one?” 

She widened her arms a little, pointing out the lack of Inverans around her. A seed of bitterness seeped into her voice as she spoke.

“If you see someone from Invera, please tell me.” 

“So what, you came here all alone? Weekly dangerous trip or what?” 

Ahh, fuck. She really should have seen that coming. She felt like she was covered in magicked sapphires - cold, despite the desert sun and heat. That was twice in one day, and she really hoped there would be no third.

At least Ganondorf seemed to notice his mistake, backtracking almost immediately. 

“Fuck, I forgot - sorry, forget I said anything.” 

The relief that he dropped the topic so easily wasn’t enough to really wash away her sudden discomfort. So, despite the slight nausea that apparently always came when she thought about her “trip” to Hyrule, she shrugged. 

“How I came here isn’t important.” 

Then, quieter, mumbling just to herself.

“At least I hope it’s not.” 

Sighing, she dared to look up again, and found Ganondorf looking at her with an unreadable expression. He hadn’t heard that last bit, had he? No, no, he couldn’t have, she really had been quiet. 

Whatever thought process he was caught up in, she definitely saw the end. After a quick frown he shook his head, then looked at her again. 

“Alright, before there’s any magic explanation you need to eat. Me, too. We need to eat. Come here, I know a place.” 

Trying to swallow down the remaining nausea Daia smiled, if a little tightly. 

“Of course you do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, huh?” 

“You live here, and you greeted everyone so far by name.” 

“Well, I suppose that’s true. Okay, sit here, I’ll be right back.” 

And, very unceremoniously, he pushed her onto a small bench in some quiet corner before turning around and disappearing behind the nearest house. They were closer to the market again, she could hear the noise, but sitting there it seemed muted, the houses around her muffling everything. 

It gave her time to think, and think she did. Today had been filled with risky conversations, and she really didn’t want another. But she also had to consider what she had learned. Whatever Pasha had meant about legends and Ganondorf, Daia chose to ignore for now - she had her own problems, and didn’t need to ask about more that she probably couldn’t help with anyway. 

The whole marriage thing had ripped open old wounds, and the nostalgia hit hard as she remembered how long she had hesitated to ask out her best friend, only for someone else to be faster. She was happy for the two, but she couldn’t imagine her life with anyone else in the village, and willingly she never would have left. And now? 

She still wanted to go home, obviously she did, it was _home_. And yet the thought of just returning to her old routine made her throat tighten. Not to mention how she would explain her absence, and how everyone would react - she definitely would never live it down, and would probably be on the receiving end of gossip for an eternity. 

Well, that, and the problem that she couldn’t leave Hyrule. And she really wasn’t one bit closer to figuring out how she could leave. As interesting as it had been to learn about the Triforce and the creation of Hyrule, it hadn’t exactly helped her after she had decided the Triforce wasn’t a viable option. 

Maybe Ganondorf could help her, but she really didn’t want to explain. Maybe she could ask him to teach her magic, maybe he knew something about barriers. That at least could give her an idea of how to get across the border. 

“You okay? Here, for you.” 

Daia’s train of thoughts was promptly interrupted by Ganondorf holding a skewer in her face. She blinked, then looked up at him with a confused smile. Not as good as a genuine smile, but at least she didn’t feel nauseous before. Maybe she could actually eat this. 

“I’m fine. What’s this?” 

“Meat and Mushroom skewer, with a little --- spice. Hope you can handle it.” 

“Why thank you, I happen to like spicy.” 

Ganondorf sat down next to her and handed her the skewer, laughing. 

“Try it first, I don’t mind getting you a non spicy one.” 

Then why get her a spicy one to begin with? Suddenly she wasn’t so sure anymore whether she liked spicy, something was fishy about this. And there wasn’t even any fish involved. 

Carefully, she took a bite. One big advantage was that the meat at least wasn’t as chewy as the jerky had been, so that was a relief. 

And then the spice hit. It wasn’t like her mouth was on fire, or anything like that - but it definitely was spicy. She might have just licked some spice like it was candy, and she did feel even hotter than before. Whose great idea was it to eat something warm _and_ spicy in this heat? 

It was somewhat nostalgic, as traditional Inveran meals were often seasoned well, and more often than not spicy. It had been a while since she had had a meal like it, and she wondered whether she could get her hands on some ‘Goron spice’ as well. Not that Ganondorf had to know all that.

She swallowed the bite she had taken and glared at him, who looked somewhat disappointed. 

“Aw, I thought that’d get more of a reaction.” 

“We eat spicy at home. If anything I’m surprised you have any spices at all here.” 

To emphasize she pointed her skewer at him, grinning smugly. Joking she could do, banter was easy. Just needed to keep the topic from her arrival. 

“Rude, of course we have spices. Not my fault all you’re eating is fruit and bread or whatever they have at the stable.”

“Fair. Even though there are many traders, none sell spices, it’s weird. So it’s easier to just avoid the meals, they don’t like it if I say something about it.” 

She took another bite and leaned back against the wall. Once, she had asked, in very broken Hylian, when the meal would be seasoned, and everyone had looked at her like she had grown a second head. Later, Maya had informed her in a hushed voice that the meal had been done, and that they just didn’t use as much seasoning as Daia apparently was used. She smiled at the memory.

“Wait, wait. Are you telling me that you’ve been avoiding warm meals because they are underseasoned at the stable?”

“I guess? Fruit and bread are good without spices, too.” 

After Ganondorf had been quiet for a moment she looked at him, and he looked at her almost pitying. That just earned him a flat stare. 

“That is so sad, I can’t believe you’re still alive.” 

Well, technically, she wondered the same. Not just because of the food, obviously, but the food definitely was one of the sadder aspects of living in Hyrule. And to think that there were spices just a bit into the desert… And in other regions, too, just not at the stable she ended up at. Great. 

“Honestly, I’m thinking the same. Why didn’t I almost get eaten by a Molduga much sooner?” 

“Maybe you wouldn’t have needed my help, after all. Maybe you would have been too spicy and it would have spit you out right after.” 

Daia laughed at the imagination, but remembering the actual event - the Lizalfos, the swallowed Claymore, the sheer size of the beast - she shuddered. 

“Not sure if it would have tasted anything, anyway. If it could swallow a Claymore I don’t think a little spicy would have stopped it.” 

Ganondorf hummed in agreement, and for a moment they both just sat and ate. It was peaceful, despite the noise from the market. For a moment, she felt at home. 

But then the thought made her recoil, after all, this wasn’t home. And she wanted to go home, she couldn’t abandon her family, and her friends, and everyone at the village. But not abandoning them meant abandoning Ganondorf and Maya and everyone else at the stable, even if she didn’t like everyone. 

Nope, she was not going to think about that now. She had had enough bad feelings for today, she didn’t need another. She could deal with that another day. 

“So, where to after the food?” 

“There’s the gardens, and if they’re too crowded we can go to the palace garden. Thought outside might be more comfortable.” 

“Outside sounds good, there’s more to use magic on.”

Then she frowned. While she had said that Inveran magic didn’t use exclusively rocks, she hadn’t brought much else to show, given how she hadn’t known. Some herbs might be possible, or a few flowers, but the Hyrule’s flora was also widely different from home.

New flora wasn’t bad, in fact, Daia was looking forward to finding out what kind of purposes she could use new plants for. Flora she much preferred over fauna, plants she could deal with easily. Not necessarily a green thumb, since she mostly cared for harvesting wild herbs and flowers in the mountains, but whenever she was involved in the farm work people asked her for her opinion on the fields. 

“You should know, I probably can’t show much not rock magic, actually. The plants here are different, and I don’t know their purpose yet. So some things will be new for me, too.”

“But you know how to find out?”

She nodded, and he grinned. 

“See, at least you know how to start, so I’ll still learn.”

“Well, I guess.” 

With a shrug she laughed. He was right, definitely, but she wouldn’t have been as optimistic. Not that she was pessimistic, but all this was way past her usual activities. She’d never really taught anyone anything, until today, apparently. 

Of course there were some situations, like showing someone a cave she had discovered, or helping someone with a spell, but never a project like this. Hopefully she could teach him at all, and magic wasn’t inherent, like he had considered before. 

“Is there anything you would want to learn? Something we should start with?” 

“Protection is always good, can’t deny I’ve been thinking about that camp. Not sure how we would know if it works though, since I couldn’t feel anything.” 

“If you know the magic, you _know_. You tell the spirits what to do, after all. You will know when they listen.” 

Ganondorf hummed, seemingly thinking. He didn’t look at her, but ahead of him there was only a wall and a few crates, so nothing incredibly interesting. And she said that as someone who visited for the first time.

“But it doesn’t work if I ask for the wrong thing. How do I know what the wrong thing is? Or if the magic just failed?” 

Daia smiled at the question. Apparently they had already started the teaching. Not that she had a problem with that, perhaps it was good to get some basics out of the way while they were still eating. It would save time later on.

“If you ask the completely wrong thing, you will feel it. It’s not pain, but the spirits will be angry, or confused, and you will know. So like, asking clear quartz to harm. Slightly wrong thing? Tricky, so it’s important to know the right use. Like asking amber to fight.” 

“I thought amber was for fighting?”

“For strength. We don’t fight much around the village, and gems cannot help you, anyway. To fight, you need to change yourself, or… drink or eat something.”

“Like potions?” 

“Potions, yes. We use them, too, but I think they are different.” 

“What do you use in them? Let’s stay with fighting as an example. In all potions, we either use fairies or monster parts, and then for fighting there’s specific mushrooms, or herbs.” 

Daia pulled a face and didn’t even try to conceal it. 

“Monster parts?” 

Her obvious disgust made Ganondorf laugh, then he sighed and looked briefly at the sky. As he looked at her again he smiled, but it seemed somewhat pained. 

“Yeah, it’s disgusting. Getting them, using them, drinking them. But monsters are magic, pure magic - so what little is left of them after they die carries all that magic, and amplifies certain effects. Magically, of course. So if you have a --- -” 

“A _what_.”

“Rushroom. A mushroom that makes you run fast, so, you can rush.” 

She snorted, but hid her grin behind what was left of her skewer. 

“Hey, at least it’s easy to remember what they’re for.” 

“Yeah, sure. I just didn’t know you were on naming duty for mushrooms.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean!” 

“Shrub?” 

All indignation forgotten, he blinked. She was very glad when he started laughing, because her cheeks had started hurting from trying to suppress hers. 

“Okay, fair, you got me. Maybe it’s not me who’s bad with names, at least Shrub isn’t named Sealy.” 

“A miracle!” 

Raising her arms, including the skewer, she beamed at him, making him laugh again. Then he stole her skewer and shoved it into her face, successfully covering her mouth. She snickered, and took it again, taking another bite. 

“If we’re done insulting me, you still have to tell me how you make your potions.” 

“Sure. It’s much less disgusting, but a little complicated. So the example is fighting?” 

“Yeah, unless you know a better one.” 

“I actually do. Mostly because fighting is terrible as an example, I’ve never made a fighting potion in my life.” 

“Grew up sheltered, did you.” 

“No, our village was a center of monster attacks. Not one night I could sleep, the fields destroyed every morning, the animals killed...“

“Focus, Daia.” 

“Fine, fine. So, I lived by the white cliffs. They’re white, not because of snow, but they’re still cold. So, a potion against cold - maybe ironic, in the desert, but the nights get cool, too. So still a useful example. 

“If you don’t want to wear Ruby, the red gem, there’s different herbs, I don’t know if they all grow here, though. There’s Fenugreek, Safflina, Ginger. They all make warm, and raise body temperature. Then you can add little things - like Cinnamon for throat aches, or warming your wrist, and ankle, and these things.”

“Joints?” 

“I suppose. If you want both effects, you have to use two pinches. One for each. You cannot ask for two things, you need to focus the magic, or it won’t work. After you’re done, make everything really small by cutting and so, then mix it with a little water or milk. Ideally you cook it, but it’s not necessary.”

“That really sounds less disgusting. At least there’s only food involved, that’s already a big plus.” 

“I can’t believe you guys put monster parts into your potions.” 

“I’d say don’t knock it till you try it but… Still, it’s useful. The Molduga? Tough to kill, but the fins and guts are incredibly potent and often used in healing potions.” 

Again, Daia didn’t even try to hide her grimace, but this time Ganondorf just shrugged. For him it was obviously normal, but she had never even killed a monster (only chased away a few stray Keese, if anything) and the thought of killing them to collect their guts… Disgusting. 

If that Molduga had eaten her, after all, and then someone would have come and killed it, would her magic be part of it? That really was too weird to consider, so she dropped the thought. Later, if she ever wanted to think about it again.

Someone passed by, doing a double take before greeting Ganondorf. No prince expected in some hidden corner of the town, apparently. He waved at the woman, greeting her by name as well. 

Daia just watched, thinking back on Pasha and how surprised she had been that he had friends. How could he know all these people and not be friends with them? Just because of these legends? 

And what did that mean for her? Were they even friends? She didn’t know the requirements, how often did you have to hang out with someone to be friends? How many serious conversations did you have to have? Was joking around enough? 

“Do you have many friends?” 

It had only slipped out, but she decided to roll with it. After all, she couldn’t deny being curious. He regarded her with a strange look, then shrugged.

“Not really. You?” 

“I grew up with about fifteen kids my age, and we’re all friends in a way? Except Yvir, I can’t stand him.” 

“Din, I can’t even imagine being friends with so many people.” 

“Well, you either get along or you won’t have fun at any meetings, because everyone comes.” 

“Terrible. That’s just politics with young people.” 

“How’s that politics?” 

“Play nice or suffer? That’s the story of my life.” 

Daia frowned, that wasn’t how she would have described her friends… But then again, she had swallowed a lot of complaints to keep the peace, and had resigned herself to simply joking most of the time. 

Except Asity. With her she had talked for hours on end, and not just about happy things. That was why Daia had considered asking her on a date after all. A future like that, going on trips together, climbing together, talking about everything, she liked to imagine that. 

But then Toeno had asked her out, and then they had married… And their friendship hadn’t changed, so Daia wasn’t complaining. Except for the fact that after that marriage her parents had started urging her to move, which had put a damper on Daia’s plans for the future. 

“We’re friends, right?” 

“Well, ouch. Did you think I’m doing this for every stranger I meet?” 

His frown made her gesture wildly, trying to… Well, she wasn’t too sure, only that she ended up being terribly frantic as she tried to explain. 

“No! I mean, I just don’t know? Are we friends, or just almost, or when is it official? I grew up with everyone, I know them forever. How long do you have to know someone to be friends?” 

He snorted, and she sighed in relief, dropping her hands in her lap. As long as he wasn’t really insulted everything was fine. 

The skewer at least she had finished, so she put it next to her on the bench. Should have done it before, she didn’t want to imagine how ridiculous she must have looked. 

“We’re friends, little traveler. You had me after you fed Shrub your apples just to --- me. Before that I just wondered what kind of guests the stable got these days.” 

“If you want me to stop spoiling Shrub, that was about the worst thing you could have said.” 

“I’ll just race with him more, burn those extra calories.”

He chuckled for a moment, then his expression turned somewhat somber. 

“Did you honestly not think we’re friends this whole time?” 

“I don’t know what I thought.”

“No moment where you thought ‘ah yes, this is what friends do’?”

She hummed, thinking about it. There was the temple trip, obviously, where he had stayed way beyond any duty or promise, just to help her. But friends? No, for friends that didn’t feel good enough. Maybe… 

“After you told me you were the chief’s son.” 

“Really? How’s that friendly? I didn’t even want to tell you.” 

Oh yes, his grimace back then and now made that all too clear. Daia laughed quietly, of course she befriended a prince who didn’t even enjoy being one. Of all the people to meet in Hyrule. 

“Well, after, I thought that you must have so many things to do. Better things than following me around and nagging me. But then I thought, maybe you do have things to do. But I don’t think you considered them better. That’s friends, I think.” 

She couldn’t read his expression, which had morphed from surprise to something else, before he turned away and mumbled something in Gerudo. It didn’t sound angry, or annoyed, so that was enough for her. Maybe he was just flustered, if he really didn’t have many friends. 

“Alright, enough friendly talk. You’re done with your food? Great, then let’s head to the gardens.” 

He stood up and brushed off his tunic, suddenly all busy again. Daia smiled. Definitely flustered. 

“Let’s go then, _friend_.” 

“I’m so going to regret this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more fic-related art: While it'll still be a while till they show up, here's some [Yiga Equivalent Concepts](https://lavenoon.tumblr.com/post/643644957372055552/sotag-the-yiga-equivalent-from-my-fanfiction). Dubbed SotAG which in full is embarrassing for both them and me (so, totally in character for a Yiga equivalent), so I'll let the full name reveal happen organically in the fic B')


	7. A little Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 is done! Partly because I decided it was getting too long, so I put some scenes in chapter 11 instead. 7K is enough for a filler chapter. Hope y'all enjoy this one, somewhat fun to reach this point - I was writing this chapter when I posted the first chapter on here.

“If you want to look around, just do it. Can’t exactly teach if you’re distracted by every flower you see.” 

Daia flinched. Ganondorf was right, she shouldn’t get so distracted, not when she had promised to teach him - but the plants in the gardens were marvelous, and so colorful. Many of them she had never seen before, and she had to contain herself to not rush around and look at them all. 

With a sheepish smile she turned to him, almost 90 degrees from the flower she had observed before. He gave her a flat stare, but the corners of his mouth curled just so slightly, so she knew he was more amused than annoyed. 

She took a deep breath, then let it out again. 

“Later. I’ll be here more often, I hope, then I will have enough time to look around.” 

“True. Given our audience I’m sure soon you’ll have more students, too.” 

“Audience?” 

Subtly, she tried to look around, though she couldn’t see anyone. With a frown she turned back to Ganondorf, cocking her head slightly in question. 

“Everyone who comes by stays and watches for a bit, and I’ve definitely seen more than enough whisper among themselves, too.”

She sighed. Typical that she missed everything, again. She really should try and be more vigilant, not that she needed to be on guard here - but she might profit (meaning, not die) if she paid more attention to her surroundings in general. Especially outside, in the desert. 

But then again…

“Maybe better I don’t see it. I’m distracted enough.” 

“Maybe you don’t notice them _because_ you’re distracted.”

“Either way it wouldn’t help. Okay, focus. Magic.” 

Scooting closer to him she still made sure to sit at an angle, so if anyone else came by she would have a better chance of seeing them. 

Ganondorf still held the quartz she had given him earlier, though she had gotten distracted before they had managed to get any further. So much about teaching.

“Alright, quartz magic. You stopped your last explanation with ‘focus and feel the maaa-’, that was when you saw the thistle growing over there.” 

She could feel the smug energy radiating off of him, and even her flattest look couldn’t wipe his smile off his face. Thistle, though, huh? She wondered what that plant would be good for, it looked interesting enough. 

“It was supposed to be ‘focus and feel the magic’ and you know it.” 

“Yeah, and if I knew how to ‘focus and feel the magic’ I would have done it by now.”

“Alright, alright. Which one is the problem? The focus, or the feeling?” 

Now it was her turn to grin up at him while he looked purely unamused. But then, unexpectedly, he started smiling, too, took her by the shoulder and pointed towards one of the corners of the garden, where the city wall was decorated with little pinnacles. But other than that, there was nothing to see. Confused, Daia turned to him, though before she could say anything, he did. 

“Look.” 

So, she looked again, and just as she turned her head, Ganondorf snapped his fingers and a lightning bolt shot out of nowhere, hit one pinnacle right at the top, and then, because Daia wasn’t impressed enough, circled it before vanishing into thin air. The pinnacle wasn’t even scorched, or cracked - the amount of control he had was incredible. 

“How’d you do that?” 

She could count the times she had seen live Hylian magic on just her hands, even after almost a year of living here, so she didn’t even try to hide her amazement. But Ganondorf just shook his head. 

“Nope, you first. I’ll teach you lightning after you teach me protection.” 

Daia sighed. It made sense, and she was the one who complained about never doing anything in return. So she would suck it up and be patient, and then she would learn lightning.

“Okay, okay. So, focus is not the problem. Let me think… I don’t know how to explain, to be honest? Just, here, hold it like this. Seeing helps when you’re starting, just like saying what you want out loud.” 

While she was talking she took his hands, now again holding the quartz, and made him form a bowl with them. He seemed surprised for a second, but didn’t object, so she didn’t feel bad about the rather bold move. Plus, he didn’t seem to object to being touched, or that tussle in the desert would have been much shorter. 

“So it’s not a --- to say the spells out loud?” 

“They’re… Not really spells, to be honest. So no, not a - not necessary. I just do it because it helps me focus.” 

“Oh good, if I had to learn Inveran that would have complicated things. So, if I say what I want, in what language would I do it?” 

Daia shrugged. Hylian would probably work fine, he had said he grew up learning it, but she didn’t want to assume. And Gerudo might be more comfortable for him, anyway. 

“Whatever you want. You might not want me to listen, I know I did not want people to listen to my spells. They can sound embarrassing.”

For a moment, Ganondorf just looked at her, then he snorted.

“Yeah, I can imagine that. Is that why you translated them so roughly?” 

“Or because I don’t know the words. You won’t ever know.” 

“Tough luck. Maybe I’ll have to learn to Inveran after all.”

“Then I’ll learn Gerudo. That’s only fair.” 

He looked taken aback, and touched. 

“You don’t have to learn Gerudo, most of us here speak fluent Hylian.” 

“No, no. One, I want to hear your embarrassing spells. If I get no secret language, you don’t get one either. And two, why would that stop me?” 

“Because it’s a pretty difficult language?”

“Worse than Hylian?” 

“Enough people say so, yes.” 

“What do you say, then?” 

He frowned, looking thoughtful, followed by a shrug as his expression softened again. 

“I don’t know, it’s my mother tongue. Is Inveran difficult for you?” 

“No, I guess not.” 

Then it was her turn to frown as she thought about it. How many people would learn Gerudo? Despite being so close to the border, she had rarely met anyone who wasn’t from Hyrule. So that only left...

“How many people were Hylian? Or Hyrulean, or whatever? Who said it’s difficult?”

He looked thoughtful again, then his eyes widened in realization. And with the realization came a smile, somewhat unbelieving. 

“All of them, I suppose. Native speakers, all of them.” 

“How many other languages did they know?” 

“I hate how you have to tell me this. None, most likely.”

They shared a laugh, and some tension she hadn’t even noticed left Ganondorf’s shoulders. For a moment, she wondered whether he was ever truly relaxed, then shoved the thought down again. It just came too close to considering what these legends might mean, and she was not ready to do that yet. If ever. 

“Alright, so I’ll try in Gerudo. Gotta use my advantage as long as I still have it.” 

“Or you translate word for word as a first language lesson.” 

Daia put on her sweetest smile, and it didn’t fool him for a second. He just laughed at her and gently punched her shoulder. It hadn’t even hurt, and yet she instinctively rubbed it as she grinned at him. 

Then it was time to be serious again. She couldn’t teach just with banter, after all. And she actually had thought about their magic on the way to the gardens, before becoming distracted by the plants. Now to put everything into words, and translate it at that.

“Okay, so we will try this… What does magic feel like for you?” 

“What does magic feel like? Like magic, I don’t know.” 

“You need to be aware of the magic to use it, and I have a theory regarding Hylian magic and Inveran magic. Just thought about it, so it could be bad, but it’s a theory.” 

Before she could elaborate, he leaned forward. 

“Care to enlighten me on it?” 

She frowned exaggeratedly, then laughed as she continued. 

“I was getting to it. Are you always an impatient student? Answer later. So, theory: I don’t think our magic is inherently different, only how we use it. Hylian magic is direct, like you did just now - a snap and whoosh, there’s an effect. Inveran magic is slower, indirect, but it lasts longer. At least from what I’ve seen. We use magic through something else, like a filter? But still just magic. Does that make sense?” 

He hummed in agreement, a relief. While she was more and more confident in her vocabulary, now that she regularly had to explain herself, she still missed the fluency. 

“Okay, good. So this is how I think it should work. You do magic, but you need to do it, uhm, smaller? Less magic, more focused. Then think about what you want, say it to help, and push all the magic into the stone.” 

“So I don’t _literally_ ask any spirits?” 

Daia shrugged, mouth somewhat twisted. She wasn’t the most religious person, and while she believed in the world’s spirits, having grown up with the theory, she also understood that not everyone did. And it wasn’t her intention to convert anyone. Not to mention that having to ask something he didn’t believe in might just ruin his focus.

“I don’t think the spirits would mind. I also don’t say ‘Oh please spirits, help me’. I just say what I need, and belief is not a factor. I don’t think they would be aware of belief, anyway. They just _are_ , and do what we ask them to. If it’s the right thing, of course.”

“Okay, I think I can do that. What does magic feel like, hmm.” 

He tapped his chin in thought for a moment, then dropped the hand again and looked down at the quartz. A few moments passed, then he sighed. 

“I suppose magic feels like power.” 

More vague than what she had hoped for, but she hadn’t been able to come up with a better simile, anyway. So she would just make do with that. 

“Okay, so, what you need to do is focus on the quartz and feel its power. And then, uhm, touch it? Wake it up? With yours. If that makes sense.” 

For a moment, Ganondorf frowned, then looked up at her with an unreadable expression. 

“What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t control my magic like that, what happens? Will it hurt us? Destroy anything?” 

Daia blinked, then gave him the flattest look in her repertoire. First he brags about his incredible focus, and then worries his magic goes wild and hurts either of them? The bit of magic necessary to activate a single quartz crystal? 

“You think the little magic you need to use one quartz will be dangerous. You just shot that spike with magic and you’re scared you can’t focus on one gem? Hello?” 

To emphasize her disbelief, she crossed her arms as well. And it worked, he grimaced and looked to the side, obviously sheepish she called him out. 

“It’s different magic.” 

For a moment she just looked, trying to understand why he suddenly balked. After all, he had wanted to learn, right? But… He was right, it was a different form of magic, and she probably shouldn’t expect him to be great at it just because he was great at other magic. She sighed. 

“Alright, look. You taught me sand seal riding. I was scared, and I fell a lot, but I never got hurt. Magic is like that. It might be strange, maybe scary, but not dangerous. I wouldn’t start with something dangerous, at least. You could have dropped me near the Molduga ruins with nothing but a wild sand seal and a Shield, say ‘good luck’ and ride away. You didn’t. I won’t do the magic version. Trust me.” 

During her explanation he had looked back at her, snorting at her hypothetical learning experience. Good, that had been the plan. 

She scooted a little closer, sitting cross legged in front of him. Looking up she regarded him with a lopsided smile. She had aimed for apologetic, but could feel a little mirth in there as well. Oh well. 

“We can do it differently. The way I learned it.” 

“Why not do that in the first place?” 

And here it became too difficult to hide her grin. 

“Because it’s how children, small, small children learn magic. But! I’m not saying you’re a child. I just assumed your magic talent would be, uhm. Would be the same? Those aren’t the right words, but you know what I mean.” 

“You thought if I’m good at _my_ magic, it would be easy to adapt to new magic.” 

“Yeah! Like that. But if it helps children feel the magic it will help you too. It will probably go faster, because once you know it you don’t need to learn from the beginning. You already know focus.” 

He rolled his eyes and grinned down at her, though she could still feel a little hesitation. 

“Alright, fine, buttered me up enough. I’m not that arrogant that I’ll be offended by childish methods.” 

“Butter… up.” 

Yes, she wanted to teach him. But how was it her fault if he distracted her with weird words? It probably meant flattering, but how was that related to butter? How did Hyruleans come up with these? 

“Flattered me enough.” 

“I figured, but butter? Why butter?” 

“Please don’t make me question these sayings, the applause thing is still haunting me. Actually, the Keese cheese thing I also can’t forget. And I really wish I would.” 

He played it up, raising his eyebrows in mock desperation, looking pleading. It made her snort, and she covered her mouth as it morphed into a giggle. Then she cleared her throat, attempting to be serious. 

“Well, imagine how I feel. There’s this Gerudo who talks about not stealing my thunder, and later I learn he has lightning magic! And then he talks about butter and I wonder how sticky that would be, and how much sand would stick to him. It’s not easy for me either.” 

They both laughed for a moment, then Daia took another deep breath. Focus. 

“Okay, okay. Magic time. Here, let’s try it. Focus on the quartz, say when you’re ready.” 

He took a moment to breathe, closing his eyes. When he opened them again all amusement was gone, and she marveled at his self control. If he had to work in politics she assumed it was a handy talent. 

“Alright, ready.” 

Daia nodded, then put her hands over his, the quartz between their hands. It felt somewhat weird, with his hands so much bigger than hers, but she ignored it and just focused. 

She drew a blank when she wondered what she should ask of the quartz - Ganondorf had said protection was always good, and she assumed it was about the Oasis, but how exactly that protection would be implemented he hadn’t said. So what now?

A moment of fluster later she’s decided to just make it for him. Back home everyone carried a protection gem, herself included - she didn’t need her dagger, but she wouldn’t leave it behind. It hadn’t been enough to ward off the Molduga or that Lizalfos before, but maybe… Maybe that had been the reason she hadn’t encountered any monsters in the mountains. 

“ ** _I want him safe._** ”

And if the magic she used was a little more than usually necessary, then no one would blame her. After all, it still worked - she felt it - and after all, her friend had a penchant for fighting, so it would serve him well. 

As Daia withdrew her hands she looked up at Ganondorf, smiling. He was frowning, like he was lost in thought, looking down at the quartz. After a moment he too looked up, questioning. 

“Did it work?” 

“You tell me. Did you feel anything?” 

“Hm. Tingly? Or something. I definitely felt something, but it really wasn’t like I usually use magic. Much less ---, and more efficient I imagine.” 

“Well, it’s good for different things. I don’t know if efficient is the right word then.” 

“What did you say? As spell?” 

She did her best not to feel flustered, and hoped her expression didn’t betray her. 

“That it’s for you. Everyone in my village had a protection gem, like I do, on my dagger. And you actually fight, so it will do you good.” 

“Oh.” 

She couldn’t read his expression, he almost looked blank. Her smile twitched, somewhat nervous, as that wasn’t the reaction she had expected. Was it too much? Was there some taboo she had breached without knowing? 

But then Ganondorf looked away and down, turning the quartz in his hands. He took a deep breath, quietly, but she heard it nonetheless, as well as the shaky release. 

And then, barely louder, while he still avoided eye contact, he spoke up. 

“Thank you.” 

And suddenly it clicked. It was no taboo she had breached, just his weird relationship to gratitude. If he never learned how to accept it, it wasn’t too far-fetched to assume he didn’t know how to show it, either. 

“What do I do with it? I mean, if yours is on your dagger, do I just… carry it around?” 

She suppressed a grin at that, she didn’t want him to feel even stranger. 

“You can do that. Or have Ashai make it a necklace - she makes one for Pasha, too. Or something like that. It just should be around you.” 

Then, she smiled broadly. 

“I actually think that is why I didn’t meet any monsters in the mountains.” 

It helped, he relaxed and snorted. 

“And how do you explain the Molduga?” 

“If I walk into a monster’s home there’s not much to do. It can make monsters ignore me, like Keese. That’s why we had them back home, Keese are annoying. But in the temple they flew by us, too, since there was only one way out. It’s not almighty.”

“Alright, I’ll believe that for now. I’ll… I’ll think of something so I don’t lose it.” 

“Well then, ready to try yourself?” 

\---

A part of Daia had been looking forward to seeing Ganondorf fail at something, too, after everything that had happened with the sand seals. To her disappointment, his control over his magic was exceptional, and he had gotten the hang of it quite quickly. 

And frankly, after his first failed attempt it had been a relief. After all, she only had a limited supply. 

He had used too much magic, and the quartz had simply cracked, the excess magic escaping through the cracks and the gem had imploded. The fragments had crumbled in his hands, and after a moment of stunned silence, Dia had started laughing, although she had immediately apologized. She had just enjoyed seeing him learn for once, and she had never seen someone use too _much_ magic on accident before (though, knowing how the kind of magic he was used to, she should have anticipated it). It had been a first for her, too. And a lesson for another day, though he didn’t need to know that yet.

After their little magic lesson, Ganondorf was the proud owner of three quartzes infused with protective magic - one from her, and two he had magicked himself. For his sister and mother, he had said. 

As he walked her back to the main gate to take her home she spoke up again. 

“So, _are_ you always an impatient student?”

He glanced at her, then grinned. 

“Depends on the class. Take it as a compliment. Care to answer my question, too?”

“Your question?”

She frowned as she thought about any unanswered questions from his side, he couldn’t mean her arrival, right? They had concluded that topic and he had apologized, so why bring it up again?

“Why do you know the word torture?”

A blink, then she laughed. The morning seemed so long ago, she had completely forgotten.

“I talk with the kids at the stable, they teach me all kinds of words. I know all the frogs and bugs in the area, but I barely know what a Chuchu is. You see what they think is more important.”

He nodded sagely. 

“Kids, of course. Only teach the important things. And you haven’t even insulted me once, how come?” 

Daia just grimaced at him. Yes, she had threatened it multiple times, but the truth was… She just didn’t like insulting people. It felt strange to say anything past the occasional affectionate “idiot”, and swearing in another language was strange, too. Still, yes, she wanted to be able to swear, but not swear _at_ people. The difference was important. 

“I don’t actually want to. Sorry? And now it wouldn’t feel right, anyway.” 

He snorted, trying to mask it as a cough. 

“How come the person I have to convince not to bow is also the person who apologizes for not insulting me?” 

It took her a moment to process, then she snorted as well. 

“I told you I’m special.” 

“Alright, special baby-sized traveler. Let’s get you home.” 

\--- 

The next week, Daia was busy getting ready when Ganondorf arrived to pick her up. She saw him talking to Maya as she walked up to them, her bag full of herbs and gems she had collected over the past week. Just to cover the bases of teaching, since she had no idea what she would teach him today. She really hoped he was interested in potions, drinking ground up monster parts made her shudder every time she thought about it. 

Getting closer she only caught the end of the conversation.

“Alright, thank you.” 

“Not a problem, dear. You should come by the stable more often again.” 

Daia grinned at Maya’s not very subtle invitation, apparently she thought that now that Daia had unintentionally lured him back a few times, he should make it a habit. She had said he used to come by more often when he was younger, though Daia blanked as she tried to imagine a younger Ganondorf. No beard and shorter was the extent of her imagination. 

Ganondorf himself grimaced, humming in a tone that was neither rejection nor acceptance, which almost made her grin wider. A maybe was always a good answer, and the easiest way to get out of a conversation. Even if that maybe wasn’t even verbalized.

As he looked at her he smiled for a moment, though it seemed more than a polite reflex, or even just a short twitching of the corners of his mouth. Determined to save him from whatever else Maya had planned, Daia tugged his sleeve in the direction they had to go. 

“Let’s go?” 

He nodded, leaving Maya with a small wave. However, even as they were alone he didn’t say anything, barely even acknowledged her as they walked. 

Determined not to take it personally, Daia tried to keep her spirits up. 

“Did something happen?” 

Maybe something else had soured his mood, though she hoped it wasn’t anything too serious. One, they were friends - of course she didn’t want her friend to be seriously upset. And two, she wasn’t the best person to cheer anyone up. 

“No, just thinking.” 

“What did you and Maya talk about?” 

“Nothing important, just this and that. Had to do something while I was waiting for you.” 

She elbowed him, even though she had to laugh. Her attempts at getting used to early mornings again were mostly fruitful, and he honestly shouldn’t complain - at least she had been awake by the time he came by. That had to count for something.

The trip to the Oasis wasn’t particularly exciting, and as they arrived they made their way to the public gardens rather quickly. Not that she had a problem with that, she still felt a little overwhelmed from the sightseeing the week before. 

As Daia sat down in the gardens, her back against the wall to ensure she wouldn’t miss anyone who stopped to watch, she spoke up again. 

“I do want to stop by Ashai’s store later, I promised Pasha to say hello.” 

“Don’t think that should be a problem. Wait. Pasha’s a kid, shouldn’t she be at school?” 

She shrugged helplessly, how should she know?

“You’re asking me, your highness?” 

“Very funny. Din, I don’t even remember… Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think she --- school, either it’s her schedule or something else. I don’t know, I haven’t been to school in ages.” 

“If she’s in school, when will she be done?” 

“Really, no idea. The schedules are all different depending on what year you’re in, and every few years they change, to see what works best for the kids or something, I’m no teacher. Not even my mother ---, the teachers discuss it with her but mostly she trusts their judgement.” 

“So, I will just stop by, ask Ashai, and hope for the best?” 

Ganondorf grimaced, then sighed, looking apologetic. 

“Yeah, sorry. That’s above my ---.” 

“Pay- what?” 

“Pay grade. I don’t get paid enough to worry about school.” 

“You get paid?” 

“No. So kind of everything is above my pay grade.” 

The deadpan delivery made her snort, then she grinned up at him. 

“Maybe it’s part of the circle of kindness. You think about school, school kids do something else for you. Like telling me about new temples to visit.” 

“I regret saying that so much.” 

“Yes yes, I imagine. Now let’s start with this week’s circle of kindness. Can I interest you in some potions without monster parts? _Please_?” 

He laughed in surprise. Granted, she had emphasized the please on purpose, knowing he would think it’s funny. She liked making people laugh, and she was good at it, though back at the stable her talent seemed to be lost on most people. Only Maya laughed at her jokes, or the sporadic young traveler. Having a friend her age really made things easier, though she wouldn’t tell that Maya, not directly, anyway. She would only be terribly smug and say something cryptic or motherly, or both.

“Sure, potions sound great. Which one did you think of? The one you explained last week?” 

“No, I didn’t find everything. I looked around and collected some stuff, but the uhm, weather, and everything-” 

“Climate?” 

“Yes, that. It’s different, so there’s different plants, and I don’t know what they’re all for. How to find out was my backup plan if you didn’t want to learn a potion.” 

“I’ll take both, no problem.” 

“Nope, I want to try alone first actually. Test it a little, to see if I can actually do it. Didn’t have to in ages.” 

“Alright, alright. That’s fair, I suppose. If we make a potion though, shouldn’t we go into the kitchen? You say it needs to be cooked?”

“Not necessarily, it just is better. But we do need a pot, so… Kitchen sounds good.” 

“Great. There’s a public cooking area nearby, hopefully there won’t be too many people.” 

“Why not use yours?” 

He gave her a disbelieving look. 

“And risk running into my sister? No thank you.” 

She laughed, reminded of her own sister whom she loved to embarrass. And a public kitchen didn’t sound too bad, though the concept was intriguing. 

“Why a public kitchen? I mean, why have one?” 

“There’s some cooking classes, they use it, and also for travelers who want their own cooked meal instead of buying one.” 

“Huh.” 

“I take it you don’t have one in your village?” 

Why he would think her tiny village would have a public kitchen was beyond her. If anyone wanted to cook, they used their own, and if someone wanted to join, well, you had to hope your kitchen was big enough for two. Travelers weren’t even an issue. So there was no need for one. 

Daia chuckled before explaining.

“No, we rarely had travelers, we didn’t even have an inn. At least not with rooms to sleep in. No one comes there to be there, only to continue traveling the next day.” 

“I don’t know, a tiny farming village sounds like a charming vacation.” 

“There’s so many, though. Many near the white cliffs, too, so they aren’t a reason either.” 

“Well, I’d visit.” 

“And I’d win any fight because finally I have the advantage. Now let’s go to the kitchen so I can teach you that potion.” 

She couldn’t risk him asking about her arrival again, and he would if she continued that conversation. Reminding him of their actual plan was the easiest way to redirect his attention, and to her luck, he took the bait.

“Fine, fine. It’s this way. What potion have you planned, anyway?” 

“A potion for better sleep. Not necessary, I hope, but easy, because there are only a few, uhm. Not a lot goes in there. So easy to remember and easy to make.” 

“And you already collected all the ingredients?” 

“Yes, and I wasn’t in danger.” 

At that Ganondorf hit her with a rather impressive disbelieving look, even compared to the other raised eyebrows “you sure?” stares he demonstrated before. But he also smiled, mischief in the making - he would humor her, she knew. 

“Thanks to your dagger.” 

“Exactly.” 

“I hope you know that won’t stop me from nagging you about being careful. Over there.”

He had led her through a few streets, though apparently he hadn’t lied when he had said the public kitchen was nearby. If anything he had exaggerated the distance. 

It looked cozy enough, a few tables and fireplaces complete with (luckily clean) pots. While there was a roof, the lack of walls ensured that the heat of cooking wouldn’t suffocate them. 

After her short and rather shallow inspection Daia started emptying the content of her bag on the closest table. 

“Should I already light a fire?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Good idea.” 

The potion didn’t have many ingredients and they were quick to prepare, so it was easier to light a fire now than to wait until they had finished the preparation. Efficient, even if she hadn’t thought of it herself. 

She turned and watched Ganondorf light the fire, kneeling in front of the probably most central fireplace. It was a few steps away, and for a moment she wondered if it was a random selection or if he had a favorite pot and position. Not that it mattered right now. 

As he got back up and dusted off his clothes she wasted no time to slip into her teacher persona. 

“Alright. So we need four ingredients. There’s Chamomile, Blue Nightshade, Gardenia, and Sunset Herbs. I asked Maya for all the names, but the Hylian name for Sunset Herbs is stupid, so I just translated the Inveran word.” 

“I’ve never seen that plant before, so I would have just believed you that’s what it’s called.” 

He stepped closer to inspect the red and orange leaves, taking a few between his fingers and twirling them. Then, he snorted, making her tilt her head in question. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“They literally look like a sunset, and you’re telling me that’s not their actual name? I thought Hyrule was the kingdom of obvious names.” 

“Well, not in this case I guess. Alright, let’s focus.” 

Ironically, that was when she noticed someone from the corner of her eyes, and turned towards them. Two Gerudo, about her age or a little younger, who flinched and giggled once she noticed them. 

“Sorry, are we in the way?” 

Ganondorf turned to them as well, though he remained silent. The audience had made him tense up, and it looked like he used every ounce of control to avoid crossing his arms, though he did frown. 

The shorter woman stepped forward, though “short” was entirely relative, as she was still way taller than Ganondorf, maybe even taller than Kalani. Her hair she kept in a high braid, only adding to her height, and it reached the middle of her back. Her companion kept a loose and low ponytail, and was only a little taller than her friend. Both seemed eager, leaning forward while holding hands. 

“No, we were just curious. Are you practicing magic again? We saw you last week.” 

Well, that solved at least two mystery onlookers. Daia smiled instinctively and hoped Ganondorf would step in, though it didn’t seem like he would. Well, she could handle this. 

“Well, yes. I know different magic, so, uh.” 

Unsure of how to continue she just smiled a little more, hoping the two would leave soon. Not that she minded them personally, but the thought of an audience made her nervous. Last week she had been disappointed she had missed the onlookers, now she wished she never would have noticed them. 

“Ohh, are you making a potion? A love potion?” 

“Huh? No.” 

At her answer, the woman stopped wagging her eyebrows. Fortunately, too, as Daia felt entirely out of her element. A love potion? Did Hylians have something like that? At least she was distracted before her thoughts spiraled further.

“Idiot, I already love you, what would you need a potion for?” 

As she spoke the second woman stepped closer as well, dragging her overenthusiastic partner back and flicking her finger to her forehead. She pouted in retaliation, then grinned. 

“Never can be too sure. Hey, will you be here more often? Think we could join the lessons?” 

“Uhm.” 

By now Daia felt entirely overwhelmed, and desperately looked at Ganondorf for help. His frown softened and he sighed, taking a step forward and half shielding her from the two women. 

“Alright, ladies, give her some time to think about it. If any magic lessons take place it would have to go through the Chief, first, too. This is purely ---.” 

“Oh, official lessons would be great! We know some more people who got curious last week, should we ask the Chief so she knows there’s an interest?” 

“I’ll let her know, no need for all of you to come by. It’s still Daia’s decision though.” 

At that, the shorter woman turned to her again, leaning to the side to look past Ganondorf. 

“Please think about it, we would love to learn some more magic! I’m Loruba, by the way, and that is my absolutely perfect girlfriend Anche!” 

The absolutely perfect girlfriend Anche groaned and hid her face in her hand, then grabbed hold of Loruba’s wrist and pulled her back. 

“Alright, we’ve bothered them enough. Good luck, we’ve got places to be, I’m sure his Highness will let us know if you decide to give lessons.” 

At her question she glanced at Ganondorf, who nodded once. 

Loruba meanwhile pouted again, but sighed. 

“Sure, sure. Alright, nice to meet you! Let us know!” 

As soon as they disappeared around the corner, Daia sighed heavily. Hopefully they would spread the word, so no one else came by to ask the same questions again and again. Or maybe they shouldn’t, just so she wouldn’t feel pressured. Though in the end she couldn’t do anything about it, so she decided to just focus on the potion again. 

“Okay, okay. Potion. We will need some water, or milk, because none of the ingredients are, are watery. Liquid. There.” 

“Sure, we can get some. Would you want to? Teach magic?” 

This time it was her turn to twirl some herbs between her fingers, though her attention was elsewhere. Did she want to? Surely it could be fun, and she had complained that Toren hadn’t wanted to learn, and it would be a great way to give back just a little, circle of kindness, and all that. But was she qualified to teach? Ganondorf had picked up on it rather quickly, but he was already good at magic. Maybe if it was a class for advanced magic users? 

Before answering, she hummed. 

“I don’t know. Should I? I mean, what if I’m not a good teacher?” 

“You taught me well enough. But really, what do _you_ want? Ignoring where, when, how, just what you think about the idea.” 

Well, if he asked like that… 

“I suppose I would like to. I learned a lot here, and I think it would be nice to share what _I_ know for a change.” 

Instead of an answer, he only hummed thoughtfully. She glanced at him, somewhat confused by his reaction. Was there something wrong with her teaching here? 

“Let’s focus on the potion, first. What are the ingredients for, specifically?” 

Well, apparently she wouldn’t get an answer now. Though she understood, whatever it was he obviously didn’t want to talk about it. She did that often enough, simply avoiding topics. So she sighed quietly, and decided it was a topic for another day.

“Alright, well, you see…” 

\--- 

After their successful potion brewing, Ganondorf had bought an empty bottle at a nearby store, as that had been something Daia had completely forgotten about. And she had tried so hard to consider everything… 

He had also bought some honeyed fruits to snack on as he led her back to the public gardens, saying they were long overdue for a break. Given how they had worked much longer the week before she was skeptical about how necessary a break was, but she wasn’t about to complain. 

The gardens were pretty much empty, and they had found a quiet corner from which they neither heard nor saw anyone else. They both were leaning against the wall, surrounded by greenery, one of the arms of the Oasis’ river splashing in the distance. 

“I can talk to my mother, about the teaching thing.” 

She glanced up at him, snatching another honeyed berry and eating it before answering. 

“Thank you. But no hurry, I want to teach you a little more first. See what works and what doesn’t.” 

“Using me to experiment, I see.” 

He laughed, but he sounded tired. And he hadn’t looked at her at all while talking. Daia frowned. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

And still he wouldn’t look at her. Her frown deepened, but before she could say anything he interrupted her. 

“If you come by more often, you’ll probably hear some things about me.” 

Some things…? Remembering her talk with Pasha last week, Daia swallowed, suddenly feeling cold. If her hunch was right, and he truly wanted to talk about whatever legends surrounding him… She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. She didn’t want him to stop talking to her, to stop the visits, the banter… She didn’t want to end the friendship so shortly after she had it confirmed. 

But she had to ask, despite the pit forming in her stomach. 

“What things?” 

“Pretty bad ones, actually. They aren’t true, or not yet, anyway. Legends, mostly.” 

Hunch confirmed, she did her best to look nonchalant, but felt like she was failing miserably. But Ganondorf didn’t look much better - turned away, his arms crossed over his knees, hands balled into fists until his knuckles looked pale. He seemed strangely small, hunched over as he was, and vulnerable. 

And she had thought he had looked vulnerable when she had gifted him that quartz. That had been nothing to what he looked like now. In the end, that was what made her breathe deeply and swallow down her fear, at least a little. If she was scared of hearing what he had to say, she couldn’t imagine how terrified he must be. But how to make this easier for him? 

“Pasha mentioned something, I think.” 

As he tensed further, she hurried to explain. So much about making things easier for him. 

“No details! Just, if I knew, and I said no, it’s not my business. And she said that you wouldn’t talk to me anymore if I knew, probably.” 

“What if it is, though. What if it is your business, and what if it was you who wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore?” 

For a moment, that thought scared her. But then she considered it. Something that wasn’t necessarily true, something he hadn’t even done yet - was there anything bad enough even under those circumstances that would make her turn her back on him? She liked to think that no, there wasn’t anything. 

“I can’t imagine that. We’re friends. I don’t care about legends.” 

“Maybe you should. Why do you think I don’t have any friends? They’re all smart enough to keep their distance. After all, what if I’m dangerous?” 

Daia still absolutely hated this conversation, though her fear had made way for anger. Why would he decide that for himself? And was he calling her stupid for being his friend? Was this some form of messed up protective action to keep her away? 

“If you were dangerous I think I would know. You saved my life, and you could have hurt me so many times. If if if. It doesn’t matter, because if isn’t is.” 

“You don’t understand, it’s - it’s complicated.” 

He raised his shoulders and turned away from her even more. She needed to reach him somehow, and talk this out - and boy, if that wasn’t ironic. She was the queen of avoiding uncomfortable topics, and yet she realized how desperately he needed to clear the air. 

But she could understand. If he truly had no friends, no one to talk to (despite his family, she hoped) then maybe talking about it might actually help. And she wasn’t going to give up on him, on their friendship. 

She scooted closer to him, not even trying to hide her actions. On the contrary, it was probably better if he could anticipate what she was doing. Putting her hand on his shoulder she spoke softly, but intently.

“Then tell me. If I learn either way, wouldn’t it be better to explain?” 

Some of the tension left his body, and he lowered his knees. He looked at her, like he considered her query, then sighed, sounding bone-deep and weary. Like he had already given up.

“Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

Ganondorf moved, leaning back against the wall, though in the process he pushed her hand away and she tried hard not to take it personally. Instead, she tried to brace herself for the explanation that was to come, hoping Pasha wasn’t right, and that he wasn’t right, that they would still be friends and talk to each other after this conversation. 

“Remember when we talked about the Triforce, and how it’s granted to people? There’s a pattern which people get granted which piece. The princess of Hyrule typically gets Wisdom, though how well she uses it is, well. Zelda is seventeen, and she acts like it from what I know. 

“Link, her hero, has Courage. Courage is the one that doesn’t _follow_ a pattern, but creates one. Whoever gets it will be the hero, but there are no requirements as far as I know. 

“Now, Power, that always lands with us Gerudo. With me. There’s a tradition and every male Gerudo is named Ganondorf, and some of them… Some of them carried the Triforce of Power and brought ruin to Hyrule. 

“And by ruin I mean _ruin_. Worse than any war, monsters --- the lands, so many dead… But there always was a hero to fight against this Evil. Not every hero succeeded, though - one was beaten, killed, the full Triforce --- and Hyrule fell into Chaos. It’s likely that this is the reason we have so many monsters in Hyrule. 

“And, following Hyrule’s history, me being born with the Triforce of Power means that one day, I’ll be that Evil trying to destroy this country. And it was nice pretending that isn’t my future, to talk to you like I’m just a normal person, but I can’t. I can’t continue doing this. It’s not fair to you.” 

At the end she could hear his voice break, but she had no idea how to comfort him. It was a lot, and as she processed this information a lot of things suddenly made sense. Why he avoided people, obviously, but also his weird introduction back in the desert, and maybe, maybe even why he couldn’t accept gratitude. That was a lot of guilt to carry around, and she couldn’t imagine how much it had affected him growing up. 

Earth, the quartz circle, back at the monster camp. Evil can’t enter. His surprise when he could.

After a few moments she swallowed, reaching out again but deciding against it at the last moment. She didn’t want him to pull back even further, her heart probably couldn’t take it, even if he didn’t mean it personally. 

“And how is any of that your fault?” 

“I’m the reincarnation. It’s my destiny to do the same.”

“But you don’t want to? I don’t get it, how could anyone force you to do that?” 

“You don’t get it, I-!” 

Finally, finally he turned around again, though he only groaned and raked his fingers through his hair. When he looked at her again, he looked desperate, begging her to understand. 

Daia wasn’t sure what she looked like, only that she was definitely confused, and helpless. This is why she avoided these talks, why she ignored her problems until they solved themselves. How could she help him? He had seemed happy enough when they had been joking around, and he had said it had been nice. If only that could have remained their normal. 

“I think about it. I get these thoughts, and how we deserve better, and how I could just wish for a better life if I had the whole Triforce, or how I could use mine to get what I want. I think of whom to hurt, and how.” 

“But you haven’t done any of it.” 

He looked at her, holding eye contact for just a moment, before covering his face with his hands again. But it had been enough. He was scared, that much was obvious, but he also had no hope left. He truly thought that was his destiny. 

“I’ve considered it. It’s tempting.” 

“You haven’t done anything. If it’s tempting it just shows more how you think it’s wrong, and how much you don’t want it, because you haven’t done it. How is that evil?” 

“I - One day I will give in. I can try not to, but one day I will. That’s what destiny means.” 

“Destiny, fate, reincarnation, so what? You don’t want to, you haven’t done anything. You’re a good person. You aren’t your thoughts. And what is fate, anyway? You have a choice, you always have. Apparently you just need someone to remind you of that.” 

To the end she started losing her composure, definitely sounding angry, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She even teared up in her agitation. What kind of stupid idea was that, he was destined to be evil because he had bad thoughts? Who didn’t? It was all about choosing not to act on them, and apparently he had done that every time, no matter how tempting, how was that not commendable? How was that not good? 

And who cared if Hyruleans believed in fate. In Invera there was no fate, there was only choice, and people in Hyrule surely were just as human as people everywhere else. If they believed in fate, it surely was made up of self-fulfilling prophecies. 

Any goddess deciding Daia should have a fate just because she now lived here could talk to her personally, and receive some rocks to the face in return. 

“I wish I could be that optimistic.” 

She frowned, pulled back to reality by his words. He sounded so beaten, so tired - she sighed, anger dissipating. It wouldn’t help her here. She leaned against the wall next to him, with just a little distance between them. Didn’t want to seem overbearing, either. 

“It’s not unfair to me. It’s unfair to _you_. To grow up with this guilt, with this idea that you have to become evil. It’s unfair people expect that of you, and I will personally throw rocks at everyone who does that.” 

Welp, so much about no anger. It had to be said though, and she didn’t regret it.

“You aren’t the past, you’re your own person. It’s your life. You shouldn’t have to think about what everyone wants from you all the time.” 

Stubbornly, she looked ahead. A part of her was glad again how they had looked for a quiet corner before, though she also wondered if that had been Ganondorf’s plan to begin with.

To say she was taken by surprise as he suddenly took her hand would be an understatement, as it caused her to flinch slightly, though she held onto it immediately when he drew back. Nope, her surprise would not put any distance between them, physically or mentally. 

He didn’t say anything, and she decided she wouldn’t, either. She had already said everything she believed was necessary, and didn’t want to scare him off. And she didn’t like serious talks to begin with, the chance to say anything that would make things worse was way too high with her lack of practice. 

After a few more minutes Ganondorf broke the silence again, much more quietly than before. 

“Ganondorf used to be the name of a hero.” 

At that she looked at him, though remained silent, hoping he would explain on his own. She wasn’t disappointed. 

“We Gerudo used to be nomadic people, until one day a Gerudo named Ganondorf led us to the Oasis. Or created it, the legends are so old, we aren’t even sure anymore. Only then we settled down, and could build our city. That’s why it’s a tradition to name our men Ganondorf, though now the only thing the name is associated with is Evil.” 

She took a moment to think, wanted to ensure her response was appropriate. He needed reassurance, and while winging it apparently had worked well enough so far, she didn’t want to ruin it now. 

“It’s not. You saved me. I see no evil in you, only someone who helped an ignorant, and unprepared, and reckless foreigner when he had no reason to. You came back and helped some more, and again and again. I just see a friend.” 

And she squeezed his hand reassuringly, hoping that he would finally accept that she wasn’t going to be scared off by legends. He deserved a friend, and she wanted to be that. 

A few moments passed in silence, then he squeezed back. 

“Thank you.” 

\--- 

They had sat in the gardens for a long time after their conversation, though they hadn’t said much else. At some point Ganondorf had stood up, declared it was late and hurried her out of the town and back to Shrub and Nelly. Even on the ride he had remained silent, only speaking up again as she got off the shield. 

“Thank you, Daia. Really.” 

Daia looked at him, immensely tired after the day, though she tried to not let it show. For his sake. And yet, she couldn’t exactly bring herself to say anytime, because she felt like she needed at least a week recovery time, and another week to prepare for a potential second serious talk. 

Ganondorf looked just as tired, and despite how well their conversation apparently went, she still felt like it hadn’t been entirely enough. Still felt distanced from him.

Swallowing down any anxiety before it could stop her she grabbed his arm and pulled. It didn’t really do anything, though he took a surprised step forward, and she met him halfway, hugging him tight. 

Hyperaware of his height (even hugging higher than was common, she only reached his shoulder blades) she felt increasingly awkward, especially as he took in a surprised breath. But then, hesitantly, he hugged her back, just as awkwardly as she felt. She felt him lean down, and readjust his arms. It made her laugh, but she didn’t want to explain that right now. 

So instead she opted for banter. She owed him an answer, anyway. 

“You’re welcome. And I want you to promise that you’ll remember you have a choice. Or I’ll remind you by making a few bad ones until we see each other again.” 

“By Din, please don’t. I’ll… I’ll try, I promise. See you next week?” 

“See you next week. I’ll try and wake up early.” 

And after a last squeeze, they both let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay  
> 1) before anyone tells me that Ganondorf is mostly just the one guy resurrected throughout the series consider this: I don't care. This is my headcanon and you have been warned  
> 2) Gerudo ladies gay <3


End file.
